Insight: Issue 81 (02 March)

A warm hello to all our event prof friends….

…and particularly anyone with family or friends in Ukraine – we’re thinking of you at this truly heartbreaking and awful time.

In this week’s roundup: Kyiv-based exhibition organiser issues plea for Ukraine support; ONS data reveals impact to events businesses; The Exhibition Industry bounces back for 2022; Technology enables a more sustainable future; and a round up of awesome tech stories from around the web.

Kyiv-based exhibition organiser issues plea for Ukraine support

With a full scale invasion of Ukraine now underway, Valerii Pekar, president of exhibition organiser Euroindex Kyiv, issued a powerful and impassioned plea for the international community to help Ukraine in their fight against the Russian army. To quote an excerpt:

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken the fight to the Russian troops and are valiantly standing their ground. Invading forces are suffering heavy losses, in most places they fail. There is no panic in the cities, citizens support their country and government and are ready for different scenarios.

However, this invasion is not an attack just on Ukraine. This is an attack to the whole free world. Putin wants to cancel the choice made by another sovereign nation. If he succeeds, he will not stop, just as Adolf Hitler did not in 1938.”

Pekar then outlines a list of proposed support measures, including lobbying for no-fly zones, more extreme sanctions against Russia, and holding rallies in support of Ukraine. Needless to say, we all pray for a swift end to this conflict and a return to peace in Europe.

ONS Data reveals impact to events businesses

According to the Office for National Statistics, 16.2% of businesses in the coaching, language school and events support sectors are suffering a revenue decline of exceeding 50%, following a request from the Tourism Alliance.

In December, the UK Government launched a £1.5bn Business Rates Fund to be distributed by Local Authorities to those businesses most impacted by Covid but not eligible for the Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief. The data shows that 8.2% of all businesses in the UK are suffering from a revenue decline more than 50%.

However, the true scale of the impact on events businesses cannot be accurately reported, as only those using the Standardised Industrial Classification (SIC) codes ‘Activities of conference organisers’, ‘Activities of exhibition organisers’, and ‘event catering’ have been included. Alas, the impact is bound to be far greater and wider-reaching than expected.

Exhibition Industry bounce back on the horizon in 2022

The future looks brighter for the exhibition industry in 2022, with global show revenues expected to reach 71% of 2019 levels this year according to a report released by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI).

The report provided updates on the impact of Covid-19 and perspectives for the industry in the year ahead.

Kai Hattendorf, UFI managing Dirtector and CEO, said, “The sun is finally rising at the end of a long, dark pandemic. The perspectives for 2022 are brighter and continue to improve quickly. As the industry bounces back, the key issues now facing companies are around internal management issues and the impact of digitization. As the value of physical events is constantly reinforced, we are well on track to achieve pre-pandemic levels of activity.”

Technology enables a more sustainable future

In this fascinating Investment Week Q&A with Industry Voice portfolio manager Richard Clode, he explores how technology is helping to create a more sustainable world and as a consequence, how this allows access to some of the largest growth markets out there.

The Q&A continues to explore how technology can also help with social challenges, as well as less desirable effects around individual privacy, data security and management.

And finally – Awesome Tech Stories from around the Web

Something a touch lighter during these dark times – Singularity Hub have collated a bunch of fascinating tech stories from around the web, including a Meta Prototype which lets you build Virtual Worlds by describing them, Virgin Hyperloop switching focus from passengers to cargo, and a human family tree with 27 million ancestors. Turns out we’re all cut from the same cloth after all – it would be great if someone let Mr Putin know.

Peace & Love. Team Cameron.