FEBRUARY | TRENDING
Wild West, with casual labourers brought in
and paid cash-in-hand. As a result, standards
of safety and efficiency were poor.
“Gallowglass has been appointed principal
contractor within the CDM definition on a
range of projects. This includes making sure
that all of the contractors on the project are
trained, competent and, where necessary,
qualified. Working with our sister company,
Gallowglass Health and Safety, we’re given
the responsibility of managing and co-
ordinating health and safety during the
event’s construction phase.”
The company also had to contend
with GDPR regulations throughout 2018.
Gallowglass head of IT Darren Thorley says:
“We engaged a couple of consultants before
examining our business processes and
launching a series of measures to protect
the personal data and comply with the
requirement to respond to a data breach
within 72 hours.
“We’re routinely asked by clients for
information about the individuals who will
be working on their sites. Our Gallowglass
app provides a means of managing name
requests quickly, simply and securely.”
The elephant in the room
And, of course, we can’t talk about
government policies without mentioning the
B word. Brexit, and the regulatory/economic
changes it could bring, is the biggest
question mark facing the events industry as
a whole, not just festivals.
Every company needs to be prepared for it,
but nobody is quite agreed on what the best
outcome will be.
Barley comments: “People I’ve spoken to
regard Britain as a diminished force in the
world, and much less interesting to them
as a place to visit or do business. It’s hard
to say whether this will result in fewer
international writers agreeing to attend the
Edinburgh International Book Festival in the
future.
“A number of our suppliers - such as caterers, security companies and
contractors - are beginning to experience difficulty in hiring staff”
— Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival
“What is clear, however, is that a number
of our suppliers - such as caterers, security
companies and contractors - are beginning
to experience difficulty in hiring staff.
Several have told us that their Eastern
European staff are leaving the country.
This will result in higher costs and - most
likely - we’ll be forced to charge higher ticket
prices for events. Sadly, this may reduce our
accessibility to audiences on low incomes.”
Paul Grecian is equally cautious about
the impact of Brexit. He says: “We’ve
already seen a slowdown in the number of
Europeans coming to the UK – from Eastern
Europe, particularly.
“The UK is less attractive for short term
job-seekers. The exchange rate is poor, and
we’ve noticed that more young Europeans
are staying at home to complete higher
education, so when they do come, they are
looking for more senior roles.
“Luckily, our workforce comes from all
over the world and our European quota is
probably not more than 20 per cent, but
even so, crewing companies are competing
hard for good people. London especially is
becoming a lot tougher in an already tough
market.”
Finding a balance
It would be overly simplistic to suggest
that regulations only serve as a hindrance
to creativity, or as a limiter on the ambitions
of festival organisers around the UK. As
companies like Gallowglass can attest,
having regulated standards of practice
can be a huge boon for some, offering the
structure and guidance needed for creative
events to flourish.
But there are still some unresolved key
issues surrounding the outdoor events
industry which need to be addressed.
Having a clear policy on immigration, and
managing applications for artist visas in a
more transparent way, will be essential as
Brexit looms on the horizon in 2019.
If the UK can manage that over the course
of the coming year, hopefully we can avoid
hitting a roadblock like the one the US
government is currently stuck at. The events
industry might not have $5bn to throw at
our problems until they go away, but with
communication and collaboration, we can
come out the other side of Brexit stronger
than ever.
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