AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 22

Number of VAT- and/or
PAYE-based enterprises
supporting selected
events, UK, 2017
38,170
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
8,660
10000
3,285
5000
0
Chart 4
Source: Office for National
Statistics, 2018
Support
activities to
performing arts
Event catering
activities
Beverage
serving
activities
On top of the enterprises mentioned above, there are thousands
of enterprises which don’t quite put events on, but support them.
So: to the 31,000 firms directly in events can be added nearly 12,000
event caterers and suppliers to performing arts. And as Chart 4
shows above, there are pubs, bars and clubs that support events, too.
Of course, quite a lot of enterprises in what the ONS describes as
beverage serving activities – in the first instance, pubs – don’t put
on events, and never will. Yet more and more do: perhaps as many
as 10,000 of the 38,000 logged in Chart 4. Successfully applying for
Temporary Events Notices (TENs), which cover small events (under
500 people, including staff), independent bars have in recent years
done a lot with events: with no fewer than 147,200 TENs granted in
the year ending 31 March 2018, TEN numbers were six per cent up on
2016/7, much of which reflected applications related to events.
Pubs, bars and clubs with later licences and good connections to
live and dance music have put themselves and new artists on the
map, and have won a growing and enthusiastic public. According
to market analysts CGA, entertainment pubs and bars – venues that
embrace ‘competitive socialising’ concepts around golf, ping-pong
and ‘immersive’ bingo – have seen a steady rise in popularity. But
among those that have moved to add events to their offer of drink
and food, much is done out of love for the music and the fans: the
extra revenue generated by events doesn’t always cover their costs.
Nevertheless, between now and 2030, more and more beverage
22