Harrogate Convention Centre hosted its first event since being converted to a Nightingale hospital , The Home and Gift Buyers ’ Festival and the Manchester Furniture Show took place on 18-21 July . The event attracted 10,000 visitors to Harrogate , with an estimated economic impact of £ 750,000 . All attendees were required to certify either two vaccinations at least two weeks prior to attending or a negative NHS Lateral Flow Test at least 48 hours before attending . Paula Lorimer , director of Harrogate Convention Centre tells EN that the Home and Gift Buyers Festival wasn ’ t originally part of the Government Event Research pilot . “ However , when we realised other significant events , such as Wimbledon and the Grand Prix , had been given pilot status , we thought , ‘ but where are Business Events and Exhibitions ?’,” she says . “ Yet again , it was looking like our industry was just not sexy enough . Then , the easing of restrictions got put back until 19 July . The Buyers ’ Festival was due to open on 18 July , and we had concerns about different restrictions on different days , plus the possibility of further delays . So ,
Coming home
The Home and Gift Buyers ’ Festival and the Manchester Furniture Show returned to Harrogate Convention Centre and was the last Government pilot event
we thought , ‘ what have we got to lose ?’” Lorimer says that they knew that the team at Clarion , the show ’ s organiser , was just as keen to put on the event as the venue team in Harrogate . “ I contacted Rachel Parker , CEO of the Association of Event Venues ( AEV ), to see if she could contact Department for Culture , Media and Sport ( DCMS ). Rachel and her team jumped to support us . We managed to get DCMS ’ s interest .” Although the show and venue didn ’ t get the full go-ahead until seven days before opening , successful pilot status was secured . While prime minister Boris Johnson was invited but unavailable to open the event , he did write to the team personally . “ I hope this pilot will be a catalyst in raising our industry ’ s awareness , a sector that has been devastated more than most ,” Lorimer adds .
Extra measures What extra measures did Lorimer and her team take to get the venue ready and compliant to host the final pilot event ? “ During the pandemic , Harrogate has been proud to support the NHS as a 500- bed Nightingale hospital until the facility was finally decommissioned in April this year ,” she says . “ Since then , it ’ s been a race against time to get the venue back and ready to host the first events this summer . But as always , the team stepped up and worked tirelessly , not just return the venue to how it was , but also make some significant improvements . As well as sanitisation stations and deep-cleans throughout , we ’ ve performed upgrades to the mechanical and electrical ,
Home and Gift via Press Loft
14 — September