By Simon Hughes, BVEP Chair - After the wave of gloom that overtook vast sections of the UK events industry as a result of the latest government rule of six announcement – and the subsequent confusion in relation to the actual impact on permitted event activity – it is perhaps time to regroup and refocus on the ups rather than the downs. One event that certainly lifted spirits across both the UK and further afield was the UKickstart Event 2020 hosted by etc.venues and supported by a number of our partners. This hybrid event linked 12 hubs nationwide with live audiences of 30 and many hundreds more virtually. Although it felt like a slim downed version of Eurovision, with glamorous hosts joining us from the ICC Belfast and Farnborough (nice jacket Carlo), the two main panel sessions hosted by Martin Fullard and Calum Di Lieto were well received, judging by the response on social channels.

Post by Steve Heap, General Secreatary AFO, Chairman EIF - The Covid-ravaged 2020 festival season is best put behind us for those of you who can. May I now encourage you to get moving as soon as possible on your planning cycle for 2021. Clearly, we may not know whether Covid is over and done with but if we don’t start planning now we will be too late for another season and as we all know, that would be devastating.

Friday 11th September 2020: by Simon Hughes, BVEP Chair - I’m not going to take up too much of your time with this update as words are failing me at the end of a roller coaster week of ups and downs. Since the announcement that introduced the Rule of Six was made by the PM, chaos has ruled in our industry. I don’t think I have ever heard so much genuine anger and frustration before, from right across the event business. Organisers thwarted and closed down by intransigent local authorities despite everything they have done to risk assess and meet Covid-19 secure standards. Venues that have staffed back up to help market Q4 now find that they are dealing with more cancellation calls from concerned clients that have got the rule of six message loud and clear – and bailed. Many of those teams will now finally get some certainty in this uncertain world. They will be made redundant.

This Thursday 25th June 2020, a petition calling for the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed by the UK events industry will finally be debated in the House of Commons. The BVEP encouraged all our partners to sign the petition and in the end 153,152 people from across the industry did so. So far, so good.

Author – Simon Hughes

“We have a simple message to all countries – test, test, test,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva. He described the pandemic as “the defining global health crisis of our time.” There is no doubt that we are all being tested – tested to the limits across the global event industry. In the UK however we are not all being tested for the virus (unless you are already ill or in hospital, a care home or prison). But from a business continuity point of view the test that we are being subjected to is unprecedented. Across every sector in our diverse industry, our trade associations are working flat out to provide advice, share best practice and information and support their members as best they can in a really fast moving and dynamic crisis.