Around 30,000 UK events industry jobs at risk
The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on people working in all professions. Implementing social isolation and social distancing have been top of the government’s list when it comes to slowing and preventing the spread of the virus. Back in March, countless companies closed their doors, with all non-essential workers being encouraged to work from home instead of heading into offices and commercial premises. Since then, a whole lot of industries have been struggling, with hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs or being placed on government funded furlough schemes. The events industry is perhaps one that has been the worst hit, with British events businesses reporting that up to 30,000 jobs are currently at risk.
Tradeshows and exhibitions run every single year, but this year, have had to close their doors. This is understandable. These events tend to take place in huge venues where thousands or tens of thousands of people can be in one building at any given time. People tend to travel from all over the world to attend these shows and the venues also have huge air conditioning systems which circle air around the building. They would genuinely be a hotspot for the spread of coronavirus. But when so many businesses rely on trade shows to generate a fair amount of their annual profit in on-site sales, orders and brand exposure, they’re having a pretty difficult time getting by with trade shows being cancelled.
Other industries have been impacted as a knock on effect as well. Companies that supply products to businesses who are attending trade shows have seen a dip in sales too. Businesses attending trade shows will usually invest in professional printing of business cards, pull up banners, posters, branded merchandise and more. They also tend to hire promotional staff to promote their brand and goods at their stand. The struggle of the events industry isn’t confined to the events industry. It has spread even further!
Fortunately, things seem to be looking up and many restrictions are slowly being lifted. Restaurants have reopened and things seem to be on track towards getting back to usual. Hopefully, this will continue and more and more industries will slowly be able to operate again. While the events industry may well be one of the last anticipated to reopen, we will eventually get there. Hopefully, the UK will begin to take a more transparent approach towards when things are likely to reopen. Other countries have a vague idea of how things should progress – all going to plan – while people in the events industry within the UK have currently been left in the dark.
If you’re operating in the events industry, the best you can currently do is keep an eye on government announcements and headlines. Hopefully, things will start to get a little better!