Exhibition News August 2020 | Page 19

Cover Feature EN editor Saul Leese pays tribute to the people that helped to secure the date for events to restart and takes a close look at the All Secure Standard framework that organisers are advised to follow Words: Saul Leese The exhibition industry finally has a proposed restart date of 1 October, providing that Government officials approve a series of pilot events held across the UK in the coming weeks. It has been the most damaging 200 days in our industry’s history and many businesses will not recover from the pandemic crisis, and countless professionals we have worked alongside for many years will not return to work. One of the first large-scale events out of the starting blocks is Salon International and Professional Beauty. Normally attracting around 65,000 combined visitors, this is one of the largest UK B2B events at ExCeL London. Mark Moloney, MD of Salon International and Professional Beauty shows, is proud to be one of the first events and is prepared to take a significant risk to get the industry back on track. He said: “Despite Covid-19, our two shows will be the largest B2B shows of their kind in Europe this year. We believe we are doing our industry a favour by running this event and playing an important part in kickstarting the exhibition industry in the UK. “We would normally get around 65,000 visitors over the three days, but this year’s number will be considerably less because many people will be nervous about Covid-19. We are also reducing our numbers significantly by concentrating our audience to ensure the right people attend both events. “We have created 4m gangways throughout the hall and of course all exhibitors and visitors will be wearing masks at all times. It will be safer than going to a supermarket or even a pub. Some of our exhibitors are nervous, too, because they are worried about the virus, and some of them are concerned about the financial commitment as they have not been earning any money these past few months. We have worked closely with all of them and even offered them smaller stands and told them to bank the rest.” Encouragingly, of the 500 exhibitors that normally exhibit at both B2B events, Moloney believes they will lose only around 20% of the them before the shows. Maloney also paid tribute to the team at ExCeL who have been accommodating his plans to stage both events at the venue. Simon Mills, executive director of exhibitions at ExCeL London is also excited about another event taking place at the venue. He said: “We can’t wait to be running safe, secure, successful events and are delighted that the first of those will be CCR London, the UK’s leading medical aesthetic event, organised by Easyfairs. “We are working closely with EasyFairs to ensure the event will conform with the All Secure Standard, as well as the latest Government guidance, to ensure maximum safety for visitors and exhibitors, as we play our part in getting the UK back to business.” The Event Industry Alliance, consisting of the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), the Association of Event Venues (AEV) and the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA), along with other exhibition industry leaders, have been at the forefront of negotiations with Central Government. Chris Skeith, CEO of the AEO, who has held over 120 meetings since the crisis began, a large chunk of which were with senior minsters, said: “The past few months have been an emotional rollercoaster and some of the most challenging months of my professional career. But I have also witnessed an overwhelming sense of community that I am honoured to be a part of. “Securing a go date and issuing government-approved guidance was a huge breakthrough for the industry and we must take a moment to recognise this achievement. There have been lots of questions about the pilots which the reopening of events is subject to. The Cabinet Office and DCMS are working through the details, which will be shared once known. “As a note of reassurance, they aim to recap and bring the All Secure Standard to life. They are not a pass or fail and will demonstrate the numerous mitigation measures which create Covid-safe environments. “As for the future – there are inevitably more bumps in the road ahead. Our biggest step as we move past the pilots will be to reinstill confidence with event stakeholders on the safe resurgence of events and the value we know they can bring. The Project Confidence campaign will be a huge catalyst in this mission. Events will be back, and they’ll be stronger than ever before.” Rachel Parker, director at the AEV, added: “Our industry stopped on 23 March 2020 with the imposition of the Government’s lockdown. For better or worse it will never be the same again, but innovation is sparked in times of crisis and we are a hugely creative industry, so that is what we did, we found August — 19