SPORTS & PLAY
THE SPORTS & GROUNDS
EXPO 2021 : 27 – 29 JULY
HAVE YOU REGISTERED YET ?
Join leading names across the industry as we showcase a backlog of innovation that has been kept under wraps over the last 15 months . 3 spectacular days at a stunning outdoor venue . The perfect way to reconnect and catch up on what has been going on across the industry .
This summer has come around fast and brings with it a huge light at the end of the tunnel , ‘ even though restrictions are being lifted cautiously there is definitely a more positive vibe amongst exhibitors and visitors , and this is evidenced in our data . We are very excited about what is to come in July . We have always been working with the restrictions that are already in place and even though they should have lifted by the time of the Expo it will not effect the event if they remain the same .’ Says SAGE exhibition manager Vicky Panniers .
Elite sport such as football ’ s Premier League , with all the resource at their disposal , was able to restart within a matter of months of the pandemic ’ s first peak in the UK back in Spring 2020 . Sport at lower levels , however , has not been as fortunate .
Lower-level sport down to the grassroots has suffered at the hands of fluctuating government restrictions over the past year and was particularly hard hit over the winter period , having been suspended for four months with the exception of a few weeks in December .
The absence of sport in people ’ s lives has well-documented impacts on people ’ s physical and mental health , while financial security of sportspeople and clubs has been put at risk as a result of the lack of spectators . Not only that , all of the subsidiary industries that facilitate participation in sport have suffered as a result , including the Sports and Grounds industry .
Grounds management is a sector worth more than £ 1bn in England alone , employing more than 27,000 people with workers specialising in a range of niches within the industry from seed enthusiasts through to line marking . It is perhaps now more pertinent than ever , then , that experts and enthusiasts from across the industry can finally convene and
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