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News
Tories go live in Wales
The Conservative Party has
confirmed it will host its 2021
Spring conference in March at
ICC Wales.
The conference will host more
than 8,000 people and bring
more than £20m of economic
value to the Newport venue.
Talking to the BBC, ICC chief
executive Ian Edwards said the
conference would help the
sector “as we look to recover
from the devastating impact of
the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The Conservatives said the
spring conference will take
place alongside next year’s
Welsh Tory conference.
20,000 Wranglers
The Delegate Wranglers group
has reached 20,000 members.
Since launching in 2014, the
group has provided business
leads and opportunities every
week. In response, 80% of
members have used the group
each month.
Neil Thompson, founder and
MD, said: “To say we are
delighted is the understatement
of the year, to keep growing
during lockdown at the same
pace, really humbles us. We are
grateful to have such a positive
and business-minded
community.”
126,000 event jobs gone and £2.4m lost per
venue, says Meetings Industry Association
Over a third of 197 responding venues (34%) are reporting
values between £1m and £5m for lost business as a result of
Covid-19, according to latest research data from the Meetings
Industry Association (mia). The average venue reports this figure
at £2.4m value loss. The association estimates that 126,000
events jobs have already been lost.
The research reveals the scale of which the business meeting
and events sector has been decimated by the impacts of
Covid-19 and the mia is calling on urgent Government help.
Compiled following its most recent insight request from the
DCMS, the mia’s research details the huge financial losses,
which are largely uncovered by insurance, that have been
endured by the industry.
Jane Longhurst (pictured), chief executive of the mia, said that
despite events now being permitted for up to 30 people in
Covid-secure venues, the industry is yet to see the green shoots
of recovery.
“Both short- and long-term business enquiries continue to
remain well below pre-Covid levels,” said Longhurst. “A decline in
consumer confidence has seen a decrease in Q3 2020
enquiries for 97% of venues compared to the previous year. On
average, enquiries have decreased by a significant 78%, with
94% of venues also seeing a similar decline in Q4 2020,
averaging a 75% decrease.”
New event tech guide
launches
Mash Media has partnered with
EVNTe.ch to launch the
Everything Event Tech Guide,
which will be launched with a
series of event tech awards at
International Confex 2021.
With the Covid-19 pandemic
affecting professional events
worldwide, many event
organisers have had to pivot to
online events, and rely heavily on
event technology to deliver a
great attendee experience.
Finding the right platforms to
not only deliver an event and
engage the audience but
monetise it can be difficult, so
the guide has been created to
offer a user friendly and relatable
tool to assist in making the
decision of which tech platform
to partner with. It is measured
with case study examples and
testimonials from real planners.
Jack Geddes, founder of
EVNTe.ch, commented: “Many
event organisers are confused
about event technology and how
it can help their business. With
event technology, there is often
too much noise and marketing
buzzwords used, and it can be
difficult to sift through all the
providers out there.
“Our goal is to help event
organisers get clarity on what
suits their needs, and
acknowledge the platforms
which are create innovative and
exciting solutions.”
Business events wins VisitEngland award
The business events industry has won
the Outstanding Contribution to
Tourism prize in VisitEngland’s Awards
for Excellence 2020.
For the first time, the awards took
place online, with the advisory body’s
chair, and former chair of the Events
Industry Board, Nick de Bois,
announcing the winning sector.
The sector was praised for its
contribution in supporting the public
and NHS in helping to set up the five
Nightingale hospitals across England.
ExCeL London (pictured), NEC,
Manchester Central and Harrogate CC
were all converted to hospitals.
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