On what would have been the second full day without Covid-19 restrictions it would be easy to feel a bit disheartened. However, once again we’ve seen events professionals come together to campaign for their industry 💪
Boris Johnson said yesterday that the 19th July ‘looks good’ for reopening but further clarity is still needed. We’re looking ahead too with news of the Tourism Recovery Plan and the role events will play in rebuilding the economy, plus the importance of data when it comes to virtual events.
All this and more inside this week’s Bulletin 🎉
Events industry calls for support following delayed reopening
The fourth and final step of the roadmap was due to happen on Monday 21 June and would have seen all restrictions lifted. However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this will be delayed by four weeks to 19 July due to a rising number of Covid-19 cases.
The implementation of the fourth stage would have allowed venues and events to operate without any restrictions, however, under the current stage three, events can still go ahead ensuring they follow regulations:
1,000 people or 50 per cent of a venue’s capacity, whichever is lower at indoor events.
4,000 people or 50 per cent of a site or venue’s capacity, whichever is lower at outdoor events.
Follow all relevant Covid-secure guidance depending on the type of event and complete a related risk assessment.
Organisers and attendees adhere to all legal requirements, including maintaining group sizes permitted by social contact restrictions at the relevant step in the roadmap and preventing mixing between groups, enforcing social distancing guidelines and mandating face coverings in indoor areas where required.
The government has also made a special provision for large, outdoor seated venues where crowds can be safely distributed around the venue, allowing up to 10,000 people or 25 per cent of total seated capacity, whichever is lower.
Events industry calls for support following delayed reopening
The live events industry has reacted to the announced delay to Step 4 with frustration and concern.
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is calling for urgent intervention from the Government for festivals. It said more than a third of this year’s festivals have already been cancelled due to the pandemic and the uncertain environment created by the Government’s refusal to back an insurance scheme for the sector.
AIF analysis suggests that, with the four-week delay of Step 4 to July 19 in place, 93% of remaining UK festivals over 5,000-capacity could still potentially go ahead this summer – but not without insurance.
Tourism minister says business events will play “vital role” in reopening economy
The tourism minister Nigel Huddleston has told Conference News that the Government’s new Tourism Recovery Plan is a “good indication of the kind of things we want to do”.
In an exclusive interview, minister Huddleston said business events will play a vital role in the reopening of the economy, and that the new measures announced in the plan will encourage greater domestic event attendance.
A core aim of the plan is to recover domestic tourism overnight trip volume and spend to 2019 levels by the end of 2022, and inbound visitor numbers and spend by the end of 2023 – both at least a year faster than independent forecasts predict. Business travel and events will play a crucial role in this, the minister said.
Half of planners struggling with volume of data from virtual events
A new research study has found that running virtual events is making data management a lot more complicated for 50 per cent of event planners – with the majority collecting more data today than ever before.
The results also show that 82 per cent of organisers feel that good data practices are going to be critical in running successful hybrid events.
The research study, titled ‘The Changing Role of Event Data ‐ New Challenges & Opportunities’ was conducted by Eventsforce in May 2021 and is based on the views of 200+ event professionals in the US and the UK, representing corporates, associations, government, educational institutions and event management agencies.
We’ll be back next month with everything you need to know from across the events industry.
