As the global effects of the Coronavirus increase each day, what can the events industry do to protect itself?

Some of the key dates in the industry calendar have already been cancelled and many venues have already seen a decrease in attendees and event bookings.

As we look forward to the rest of 2020, our panel explores how significant the impact on the industry will be and what steps can be taken to protect our businesses and staff.

For further reading please see below - advice from the panel
https://www.lewissilkin.com/en/campaigns/coronavirus  

Event Huddle: Coronavirus and the Events Industry – Crisis Management Webinar

Over the last month, as Covid-19 has moved throughout the world, the events industry has been turned upside down. Responding to the ever-changing advice and focusing on the safety of audiences, crews and our teams, every industry is cancelling events and closing venues for the foreseeable future.

As an organisation, what strategies must you implement to navigate this crisis and what tools are at your disposal to continue to engage with audiences and plan for an uncertain future? Four incredible panellists aimed to answer those questions at Event Huddle’s first webinar, where we took Event Huddle online on Tuesday 31st March with resounding positivity for the future of events in the UK.

Joining host Kevin Jackson was a team of experts in today’s industry: Simon Hughes, vice chair at Business Visits and Events Partnerships (BVEP) which aims to support the sustainable growth for the UK’s events industry; Jeremy Summers, partner at commercial law firm, Lewis Silkin; Kellie Hasbury, director at Plaster Creative Communications, a marketing and PR agency specialising in consumer events, venues and the tech industry and Richard Clifford, policy manager at UK Hospitality, the UK’s leading hospitality trade organisation.

Three key themes flowed throughout the discussion:
● Now is the time to plan. As things inevitably slow down, use this time to plan for the future of your organisation. Take this opportunity to be innovative and creative, laying the groundwork for success in a very different future events climate.
● Continue to engage with your audience. Now is not the time for radio silence. Use social media and other virtual tools to connect with your audience and share with them how you’re responding to this crisis. You don’t always need a physical space; community can continue to be built online
● Connect with tech. Most organisations have developed a new relationship with technology in just a few short weeks. Start to think about how these video conferencing and live streaming tools can be used to make your future events more accessible, drawing virtual audiences from around the world.

Wrapping up the session, Jackson asked the panel if they thought the UK events industry would bounce back when this is all said and done. The answer was an overwhelming yes.

Leaving on a very positive note, Simon Hughes said: “We have creativity by the bucketload in our industry and we can deploy that for the greater good”

Jeremy Summers added: “It’s now up to the organsation to take consumers on this journey with them.”

The webinar was an incredible hour spent discussing innovation, strategy and the resilience of the events industry amongst very uncertain times.