Exhibition News December 2020 | Page 5

Welcome

Subscribe to EN for free today by visiting our website exhibitionnews . co . uk
Mike Fletcher
Acting Editor
Portfolio Director Duncan Siegle
Deputy Editor Stuart Wood
Junior News Reporter Olivia Powell
Production Manager Elizabeth Nixon
Contact us Subscriptions 020 8481 1128 Editorial 020 8481 1152 Sales 020 8481 1122 Production & Design 020 8481 1132
Globe-Af exhibitionnews . co . uk
@ exhibitionnews
twitter- @ exhibitionnews
Published by Mash Media 2 nd Floor Apple Market House , 17 Union Street , Kingston upon Thames , KT1 1RP .
Subscription : One year ’ s subscription cost is UK £ 95 + VAT p / a Europe £ 112 + VAT , ROW £ 130 + VAT .
Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers . No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publishers .
Printed by Pensord Press Ltd .
Senior Graphic Designer Sean Wyatt-Livesley
Subscriptions Executive Matthew Williams
Sales Director Paul King
Exhibition News Magazine

Buckle-up , 2021 is coming next

So this is Christmas , as John Lennon once sang .

You can ’ t help but look back on 2020 from an events perspective with total and utter disbelief . For me personally , I ’ d been looking forward an incredible summer of sport , which should have included the Euros and the Tokyo Olympics .
Instead , like so many across the exhibitions industry , I ’ ve had to adapt , and try to envisage an optimistic future , which doesn ’ t feature a global heath risk .
We ’ re told that this future is almost here . At time of writing , results from two of the 50 global vaccines currently being tested have provided enough optimism to suggest that an end to this nightmare is finally in sight . But what will 2021 really look like for the exhibitions industry ?
The international movement of people , goods and services will no doubt face disruption from Brexit come 1 January , so if your business struggles over the past nine months have distracted you from preparing for our departure from the EU , the time to refocus was yesterday .
As a bare minimum , understand how staff will get in and out of the EU , have contingencies for what happens if trucks get held-up , and take advice on regulatory risk assessment to ensure that cross-border finance and data handling can proceed .
Just as a return to work won ’ t see a return to old ideas around working practices , a return to the exhibition hall is unlikely to look the same as the last time we were there .
As an industry , we need to understand forthcoming changes in human behaviour and innovate , placing particular emphasis on sustainability solutions .
One key outcome of the pandemic will see greater scrutiny of carbon footprints , especially from large corporates with CSR targets to meet . We must therefore evolve at speed so that exhibitions can offer effective solutions , rather than wait until they ’ re seen as the problem .
Watching UEFA Euro 2020 staged in the summer of 2021 will be confusing enough . But witnessing this industry still suffering because it has been too slow to adapt to Brexit or changes in consumer demand will be downright heartbreaking .
To quote Lennon again , let ’ s hope it ’ s a good one , with nothing to fear .
Mike Fletcher , Acting Editor
December — 05