PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

During the pandemic, the events industry across the UK was hit hard as venues were shut, Covid rules were brought in to restrict attendance and there was a general reluctance by sponsors and businesses to get involved in a situation where uncertainty and cancellations were the norm. Whilst there was a shift to online events and meetings and there was some success in making this transition, this did not make up for the lost revenue from holding live events across the UK. Given that much of the sector was essentially stopped from working during the last two years, it is easy to forget that the event industry is a significant contributor to the UK economy, with a recent report submitted to the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport estimating that the industry generates £84 billion every year with conferences and business events generating over £18 billion in direct spend annually. Of course, nothing beats attending a live events as opposed to sitting in front of a computer as one ...

A cartoon published at the beginning of the Covid-19 shutdown showed a sad looking man standing at the Pearly Gates to heaven. St Peter is checking the ledger and looks up to the man stating  “Says here that you should be in hell but since you were in the events industry during coronavirus, we’ll count that as time served”. Not the best joke ever but the sentiments are real for anyone working in any events-oriented business during the last five months with social distancing rules having made any conference, business dinner or networking event impossible to undertake. This hiatus will have had a serious economic impact in the UK given that the overall events industry is estimated to be worth £70 billion in direct spend, accounting for over 50% of the UK visitor economy.  Whilst £39 billion of this comes from leisure (including arts and cultural events, music events and festivals) and sporting events, over £31 billion of the total is actually generated from business events, meet...