The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across pretty much every single industry across the globe.  ‘Furlough’, ‘lockdown’ and ‘social distancing’ became words used on a daily basis, with the public being asked to stay at home to try and prevent the spread of the virus.  In the early stages, there were a huge number of infections, hospitalisations and, unfortunately, deaths, and our hearts go out to all those people who lost loved ones in incredibly difficult circumstances.

The wedding and events industry, naturally, was severely hit.  Brides and grooms had to postpone (or cancel) their special days, whilst events such as sports events, festivals, conferences, exhibitions and trade shows – to name just a few – which rely on gatherings of large numbers of people, basically shut down for 2020 and large parts of 2021.

It’s encouraging to see signs of the events industry returning – primarily due to the UK vaccination programme – even though it’s important that we realise that COVID hasn’t simply disappeared.  We will need to learn to live with it, and hopefully common sense in terms of our own attitudes and decisions will prevail.

In order to survive the turmoil that COVID brought, though, organisations and their employees in the events industry had to draw on their reserves of resilience – something that they are known for.  That said, some companies simply couldn’t withstand the effects of COVID and simply had to close their doors for good.

But, for now, let’s take a closer look at how COVID-19 affected the events industry in particular.

Staffing

It’s difficult to find good staff at the best of times, but the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns for the hospitality sector, in particular, meant that staff working in pubs, restaurants, cafes and even temporary, casual staff at large events, found other employment, away from the sector. This shortage is, indeed, still being seen and felt today.

And let’s not forget, of course, the HGV driver shortage.  Large events require large amounts of temporary equipment to be transported around the country.  Think of a festival – they will need everything from staging, AV equipment, picnic benches, crowd barriers, event furniture, mobile bars and so on, all of which need HGV drivers to get the kit to its destination.  Again, the shortage of drivers is still being felt in this sector.

Costs

Shortages mean increases in prices.  Take the example of the driver shortage above, this meant that the salaries being demand by HGV drivers went up. As a result, the cost of transporting equipment around the country has increased.  Add to this the ever-increasing cost of fuel prices, and you have the perfect storm.  And who is going to pay for the increases?  You can bet your life that this will ultimately land at the doorstep of the consumer – in this case, the festival goer, sports fan, or any other person who attends events.

And we can go even further with this.  Lockdowns meant that more people than ever turned to the internet to do their shopping, and companies did their buying.  Container shipping costs from the Far East went up ten-fold, all leading to increased costs for industries across the world, not just the events industry in the UK.

Indoors to outdoors

With the spread of the virus being proven to be more prevalent indoors, certain events moved to outdoors, along with social distancing protocols in place. This at least allowed some events to take place, albeit with fewer numbers of guests and visitors and, therefore, less revenue.  This, of course, meant a knock-on effect for suppliers who operate in the events industry, such as outdoor event equipment hire suppliers, for example.

As a result of the move to outdoor events, there was a spike in demand for outdoor event furniture hire, for instance.  Tables and outdoor chair hire, for example, overtook the demand for standard chairs and tables and even outdoor heater hire for gardens and patio terraces increased in demand, as venue operators searched tirelessly for creative event inspiration.  There really was no other option than to choose outdoor furniture hire.

Physical to virtual

Especially when it came to meetings, conferences, exhibitions and trade shows, virtual came into its own.  These networking events have run for many years, working on the proviso that in order for people to network, you have to get them under the same roof.  So, instead of an exhibition hall, some organisers turned to virtual rooms and meetings.  The reaction and feedback to these hybrid events was predominantly good, though many people would still argue that nothing can be a face-to-face meeting.

Reviews

Lockdown, by its very nature, gave the majority of people, including event organisers, the chance to take stock and review what they do well and perhaps what they don’t do so well.  It presented us with a rare chance to think!  Whether event organisers came to the conclusion that they needed to improve the way they use technology at their event, or maybe how they can take steps to become more environmentally sustainable, dare we say that this was a close to a positive that we could draw.

Let’s face it, COVID was the darkest of times. But, the event industry in the UK is robust and full of determination.  Perhaps let’s not look to ‘return to normal’, but do things differently and better.

And, most importantly, let’s all try to look forward to a better future, and a future that we can all enjoy, once again.

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