Insight: Issue 108 | 19 October

Here Ye! Here Ye!

Hark – the town cryers of events street have returned, and this week we’re hitting you up with some breaking news without any u-turning! Hoorah!

In the week where Van Gogh saw the full wrath of a tin of tomato soup, we’ve got for you; The Events Industry Council releases new benchmarking study on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Global Events; Host City 2022 to bring International Sporting Events Face to Face in Glasgow; Jurassic World becomes ExCeL’s longest running event after 190,000 tickets sold; Net Zero Carbon Events to launch its Roadmap at COP27 on 11 November; and ‘One Tree Planted’ for every Christmas Party confirmed.

The Events Industry Council releases new benchmarking study on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Global Events

As of the 14th of October, The EIC, along with their EIC Equity Task Force, have released the results of their 2022 Equity Benchmarking Study. The study was part of EIC’s Equity Acceleration Plan, a scheme designed to with the aim of addressing all forms of discrimination in the business events and hospitality sector, measuring progress and ultimately implementing change within the industry.

The survey, which involved a series of EIC leadership focus group discussions and an AI-based chatbot survey of 1,404 event profs, reported widespread DEI dissatisfaction amongst event professionals, minority groups, and women, and highlighted the urgent need for action.

Amy Calvert, Events Industry Council CEO stresses the importance of the study in delivering measurable change in the industry:

“Results from our 2022 Equity Benchmarking Study underscore we have a significant way to go, particularly advancing ethnic diversity, gender inclusivity, and equity in leadership and influential positions. EIC’s Equity Acceleration Plan will enable us to measure progress as well as improve our ability to deliver impact and sustain change.”

Host City 2022 to bring International Sporting Events Face to Face in Glasgow

From the 15-16 November, Host City, an international sports, business and cultural events conference, will be returning to Glasgow’s Technology & Innovation Centre!

Under the moniker of ‘Face to Face with the New Realities’, the conference will focus on the issues of sustainability, technology and new event concepts, bringing together event professionals from organisations such as VisitScotland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Tour de France and the Global Esports Federation.

Here’s a quick rundown of a few of the programme highlights;

• A panel on sustainability will include The R&A director of sustainable golf Arlette Anderson and Paris 2024 director of environmental excellence Georgina Grenon.
• IOC Olympic Channel Services director Yiannis Exarchos, International Tennis Federation CEO Kelly Fairweather
• Recast founder and CEO Andy Meikle, will discuss how to unlock the power of technology at sporting events.
• New event concepts will be discussed by a panel featuring Global Esports Federation, Metaverse Council & Commission member Prof. Andy Miah and Tour de France head of project Tine Eriksen Green.

Jurassic World becomes ExCeL’s longest running event after 190,000 tickets sold

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” —Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park

Incredible news for London’s Excel Centre – due to massively popular demand, the run of Jurassic World: The Exhibition has been extended into 2023! Since opening on the 24th of August, the immersive experience has sold more than 190,000 tickets, and is now set to become the venue’s longest ever running event.

Looking to what the future holds for the venue, head of live events at ExCel Damian Norman says:

“As one of the UK’s busiest event venues, one of the biggest challenges ExCeL faces is finding space in our calendar for such long-term tenancies. That’s why we’ve been looking at how we better use our entire campus and investing in our dock edge area to create a series of new spaces which will allow us to host many more immersive experiences in the future.”

Well, Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures 😉

UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 host cities receive £81M boost in economic activity

Get ready for Decarbonisation Day – on the 11 Nov, Net Zero Carbon Events will be launching it’s roadmap for the event’s industry at Egypt’s COP27.

Since it’s introduction at COP26, the 225 operator strong Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge has seen those registered committing to publish their organisation’s pathway to achieve net zero by 2050 before the end of 2023, with an interim target to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

Launched with the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the roadmap includes an 80 page doc with information on how to implement action to achieve net zero, along with 20 pages of Executive Summary.

Underlining the importance of going full Net-Zero, President of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, James Rees says;

“Globally, there is an urgent need to accelerate the transition towards global net-zero emissions. The events industry can and should play its part in helping to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. That’s why the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative was set up.”

We apologise in advance for mentioning the C word again…

‘One Tree Planted’ for every Christmas Party confirmed

The good people at Lime Venue Portfolio are planting a tree for every Christmas Party booking made between the 27th of September and the 30th of November, all in the name of sustainability. As part of a collaborative campaign with reforestation pioneers One Tree Planted, the brand hopes to plant over 500 trees – and with an increasing number of businesses looking to rally together and reward staff over the festive period, it looks like they’re on to a winner.

Jo Austin, Sales Director, Lime Venue Portfolio drives home the objective behind the initiative;

“This is an increasingly important market for the industry as businesses look to retain their most valuable asset; people,”

“Universally, our clients are talking about people; how to get them and retain them. The festive market has grown in sophistication in doing just that. With our One Tree Planted initiative, we’re giving them just one more reason to book these events now, and to do so with a green reward at the end.”

Absolutely tree-mendous work guys.

So, that’s it done and dusted this weeks guys and gals – join us again for next weeks’ lowdown. See y’all then.