Before the pandemic , the events industry was a feather in the country ’ s economic cap . A naturally entrepreneurial environment , the industry simply got on with the job delivering world-class events , again and again . Shows were geo-cloned ; businesses expanded their reach globally and it could honestly be claimed that the UK events industry was truly international . It did not need significant government intervention or input . However , this independence was also its Achilles heel when the pandemic struck . The associations did have connections within government but only at a fairly superficial level . A hard lesson learned , they needed to be closer to government during the good times in preparation |
for the bad and the profile of business events needed to be raised . However , from this relatively modest position the Association of Event Organisers ( AEO ), Association of Event Venues ( AEV ) and the Event Supplier and Services Association ( ESSA ), under the banner of the Events Industry Alliance ( EIA ), have had significant successes , forging new and stronger relationships within government departments . However , business events remained hidden under the Department of Culture Media & Sport ( DCMS ,) having no direct relationship with the Department for Business , Energy & Industrial Strategy ( BEIS ), the Treasury or senior government advisors . Undeterred , crossassociation working groups |
demonstrated their prowess by developing the All- Secure Standard , defining a plausible , Covid-safe , route back to events , leading to the All-Secure Expo pilot event at the BDC on 2 September 2020 . It was an astonishing achievement to go from concept to delivery in just a few weeks ; these efforts were only thwarted by the loss of the promised restart date a month later in October , dealing a body blow to the industry . It was especially demoralising for the already stretched supply chain . Many businesses had looked to balance cashflow and limited government aid to bridge the gap . Repeatedly assured that funding was being made available via local authorities , association members were clear in their rebuttal . The EIA responded with an FOI request to |
every UK local authority , revealing extreme disparities in the dispensation of the Additional Restrictions Grant ( ARG ), 80 % of funds intended to help businesses affected , but not forced to close , by the pandemic had yet to be dispensed . The pandemic also had an adverse effect upon the associations , while association directors were at the forefront of discussions with government their teams were depleted , but rebuilding them presents opportunities to make step changes . Crossassociation working groups have been invaluable during the pandemic and now , all associations will look at their own workflows to maximise on the unprecedented engagement achieved via the working group model , making them more accessible to all , achieving greater |
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10 — June |