Insight: Issue 54 (21st July)

We never thought this level would come. . .

Ahhh.

In today’s news: London clubbers cheer the end of COVID restrictions in England; Reading Festival has been granted its event licence by the local council; a timely refresher on the guidance for events and attractions working safely during coronavirus; hot takes on how to get back to live *carefully*; how hybrid events will kickstart post-pandemic growth for SMEs; and lastly, tune in to Sky Sports News today for the start of their ‘Summer of Sustainability’.

London clubbers cheer end of COVID restrictions

On Monday at midnight, London clubbers rejoiced as pretty much all of England’s COVID restrictions were lifted at last. The so-called ’00:01’ event was organised to celebrate the return of live music, and it marked one of the first rule-free in-person music events since the pandemic began last year.

It goes without saying that we love to see people enjoying live events – but if you watched the footage and felt a wee bit nervous, you’re not alone. Epidemiologists are generally skeptical that lifting restrictions was the right thing to do, and there is clear concern about a wave of new cases – more than 50,000 per day across the UK…

Our advise to clubbers? Don’t ditch the face masks just yet.

Reading Festival granted licence by council

More good news for live music lovers – Reading Festival is one step closer to going ahead this summer after the local council granted its event licence.

A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said they are ‘anticipating’ the festival will go ahead now the licence had been approved, adding that the organisers – Festival Republic – will have to work with emergency services to make sure the event runs ‘as smoothly and safely as possible’.

All being well, Reading Festival will take place from 27 to 29 August 2021. Hooray!

Events: working safely during coronavirus

Before we get too carried away with the excitement…*deep breaths*…this seems like a good time to share the government’s guidelines for events and attractions working safely during coronavirus.

If you’ve got an event in the works down south and need a refresher on what’s changed in the last few days, you’ll find everything you need at the link above – and it’ll point you in the direction of the guidelines for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, too.

Let’s get back to live (carefully…)

As the demand for live events is clearly surging, the timely headline of this next article – Back to Live (Carefully…) – sums up how most event profs are feeling right now.

According to VOK DAMS, a German events and live-marketing agency, 26% of all enquiries they’ve received in Germany are for live events, 35% are for hybrid events, 39% are for purely virtual gatherings – and these trends are mirrored elsewhere in the world.

They also note a move towards ‘hybrid roadshows’ with smaller, regional events that bring brands directly to their target audiences, in a COVID-safe way. Summing up this sensible strategy nicely, CEO Colja Dams commented:

“If the customer can’t or doesn’t want to come to the event, then the event has to come to the customer.”

Data-driven hybrid events = business growth

Hybrid is clearly the way to go for satisfying your attendees’ needs, but what about your business? How will hybrid events help *you* to succeed? The short answer…is data.

According to Elite Business Magazine, hybrid events will kickstart post-pandemic growth for SMEs by helping to avoid a ‘black hole’ of valuable audience data. What they mean by this is – a return to purely face-to-face functions would result in a huge loss of the customer insights that are generated through virtual events. Tech-enabled hybrid events, on the other hand, will broadcast your message to a wider audience while harvesting meaningful, actionable feedback.

If you think that sounds like a good deal – and why wouldn’t you? – take a look at the full article here.

Sky Sports kicks off Summer of Sustainability

Last up, Sky Sports News is kicking off its ‘Summer of Sustainability’ today, with a full day of live news coverage – telling stories of positive climate action among sportspeople, clubs and organisations throughout the UK. The aim is to show how serious the situation is becoming, and to encourage viewers to take their own climate action steps.

As part of this, Sky Sports viewers will see how Sky – working with governing bodies at some of the biggest sporting events of the summer, such as The Open and The British Grand Prix – are helping to run and broadcast sustainable sporting events.

So, if you’re a Sky Sports fan, make sure to tune in on Wednesday 21 July.

Cameron, over and out.