Editor ’ s Letter
elcome to our July-August issue . It won ’ t have escaped your attention , but despite saying that I would be seeing you at the end of June at International Confex , it transpired that I wouldn ’ t , and that instead the show would move to 1-2 September . It was probably a smart move , as I ’ m sure many of you will agree . The reason : well finally , on 19 July , we are back in business .
If I ’ m honest , I expected more of a fanfare on the so-called ‘ Freedom Day ’. But rather than rejoice in the streets , there seems to be – yet another – divide in the population . There are many who will burn their masks , and many others who will continue to wear them and , frankly , it shouldn ’ t upset anyone else . Masks are not a great inconvenience . What , however , is an inconvenience for the events industry is capacity restrictions , and many of us are glad to see the back of them , which is why I imagined we would require an official mandate on Covid-status certification . But no , it will be up to individual organisers to decide whether entry requirements are needed . No doubt you will be led by your delegates to determine what is the safest path .
And that brings me to the theme of this issue : agencies .
This edition coincides with the CN Agency Awards , and you can view the winners on p8 . It was fantastic to see so many of you in person on the day . And on that note , I must thank our hosts Tobacco Dock , along with our supplier partners who really are the foundation on which our industry is built : Event Trees , Lick Me I ’ m Delicious , Onward Display and Skyline Whitespace .
Originally , we had planned to pack it full of live event case studies , but they ’ ve been a bit thin of late , so we ’ ve profiled as many as we can fit in the magazine .
If you are an event buyer , then there is a high chance you will need an agency ’ s expertise to help deliver safe , meaningful events and experiences , and we hope the showcase we have put together sends you down the right path . Don ’ t stop here though , there are scores of fantastic agencies which we have not been able to squeeze in this time .
I ’ d also like to draw your attention to p10 , which features an exclusive interview with Identity ’ s MD , Michael Gietzen , who was charged with organising the G7 Summit … if that doesn ’ t inspire you to get cracking with your live events programme , I don ’ t know what will .
Martin Fullard Editor Conference News
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