“The idea of extending the season is
great in theory, but we have to admit
that this is a summer industry first and
foremost.”
Winter Wonderland rides
PARKS &
CANCELL ATION
The Rose Garden
in Hyde Park
There are difficulties for the outdoor
venues, too. I asked Alun Mainwaring,
Head of Events at The Royal Parks
(which includes Hyde Park, St James
Park and more), what the major
challenges of extending the festival
season would be. “It’s very difficult to
look at rescheduling major events when
there is still such uncertainty about the
current situation, and about what the
guidance will be on mass gatherings
and social distancing at that time,” he
said.
BST Hyde Park, organised by AEG
Presents, was recently cancelled
after lockdown was extended. The
festival was originally scheduled for
July, and a busy calendar made it an
unlikely candidate for postponement.
“The Royal Parks already has a busy
autumn and winter event schedule,
so any postponements would need
to fit in with that programme,” says
Mainwaring. “We must also consider
the implications they may have on
other key agencies outside of the park
who we work with.”
The bottleneck which Mainwaring
mentions could be a real problem if
events are able to go ahead. The bank
holiday weekend at the end of August,
for example, has already been a prime
candidate for some movers (see p8-9).
Kevin England, Director of KJE SFX
and KJE Broadcast, says it could cause
some problems.
“I think that we will see a potentially
massive bottleneck this Autumn,” he
says, “and whilst it will be challenging
I feel it will show how resilient we are
as an industry. I believe we will see a
great deal of collaboration between
events in terms of sharing spaces,
suppliers, equipment and people that
we will come through that bottleneck
together.”
Collaboration within the industry is
crucial at the top end, too. Nick Morgan
says that “[in our] industry, bodies
such as BVEP, AIF, NTIA and NOEA
are all doing a great job in continually
promoting the sector and trying to
gain DCMS and Treasury support.
It can be frustrating explaining to
Ministers the gravity of the current
situation.”
CRISIS
BREEDS
INVENTION
There are, then, many difficulties
involved in extending the festival
season. But it could soon become
the only option for companies that
have missed the summer window.
Making it through to winter could
require a complete change of direction,
according to England: “The strongest
companies will be those that have the
ability to pivot into providing essential
services. For example, we have seen
Formula One teams constructing
breathing apparatus for the NHS, and
some of my special effects suppliers
have turned to making hand gel.”
Crisis breeds invention – as Mash
Media MD Julian Agostini says on
p36. There are many challenges ahead,
and some companies will not survive
the loss of business. Smaller players
will drop off, or be swept up by the big
companies which have some money
remaining in the bank.
Those which do hang on must be able
to think outside the box, perhaps be
willing to fly in the face of conventional
wisdom about the festival season.
It is hard to imagine any company
which survives not having a strong
contingency plan going forwards
– whether that means having wide-
ranging insurance coverage, or being
less in sway to the industry’s seasonal
nature.
However you choose to tackle the
virus, we wish you the best of luck –
and we hope to see you out in a muddy
field as soon as it’s safe to.
“BUSINESSES WILL NEED TO
BE MORE RESILIENT, AND MORE
FLEXIBLE, IN ORDER TO SURVIVE
THE COVID-19 CRISIS.”
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