30
Big Interview
Speaking
up for events
Simon Hughes, vice-chair of the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP)
tells CN about the events industry’s progress with government
longside Michael Hirst
OBE, Simon Hughes has
been leading the charge
of the events industry
through the now-virtual streets of
Westminster. As vice-chair of the
Business Visits and Events
Partnership (BVEP), Hughes has
been a direct link to the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
and the new tourism minister, Nigel
Huddleston MP. Who better placed,
then, than to bring us up to speed on
progress?
Can you summarise how the last
few weeks have impacted you
personally and professionally?
It is clear that we are all living through
a unique experience, which is
impacting every aspect of our lives.
The fact that it is disrupting
everything, and everyone, is part of
the severe challenge that we are all
facing. I am very lucky to be in a solid
relationship with a huge amount of
mutual support available at home.
Bearing in mind there are also two
teenagers in the house, this is quite
important.
Professionally most of my work
has moved into the digital domain,
has paused, or has simply stopped
completely. Having a mixed portfolio
of interests has been hugely helpful
and the focus of providing support to
the work of the BVEP and the Event
Industry Board has also been
important. Creating clear, consistent,
and compelling messages about the
value and importance of the live
events industry in the UK has never
been more critical.
Has the industry ever been
impacted in a way like this before?
I am not sure if we can yet be certain
about how great the economic shock
from Covid-19 is going to be. There is
no doubt that event activity will be
severely disrupted for the
foreseeable future, cash flows will be
challenged, supply chains disrupted,
and demand reduced. That supply
and demand combination is
challenging, both in the UK and on a
global scale too; a very toxic mix.
Thinking back to previous
moments of massive economic
disruption, I suspect that the scale of
this crisis will create a huge impact
across many different sectors. As
events are a critical part of the supply
chain in so many different sectors,
this will be really challenging in a
service-sector dominated economy.
We are losing a lot of output that will
never be recovered.
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What can you tell us about your
conversations with the DCMS with
regards to getting support for the
events industry?
We have been having useful
conversations, framed at first by the
disappointing way that business
visits and events generally got lost
in the hospitality, leisure and
tourism mix. This is a systemic
problem, where local regulations
have not been amended to include
event venues or where employment
codes have never been expanded to
reflect the diverse and creative
workforce that deliver events of all
types and sizes. As a result, many of
the initial business relief measures
announced by chancellor Rishi
Sunak missed the mark for many in
the event industry.
That has been recognised I think,
and therefore we are anticipating
some support from government as
we start planning for the recovery
phase. However, we really need to
step up to the plate on this – the
queue of sectors that will also be
looking for massive support is going
to be very long. From the airlines to
retail, automotive to hotels, and
leisure to services, the calls being
made on government will be
extensive.