Insight: Issue 99 | 10 Aug

The Return of the Heatwave: 2 Hot 2 Handle

Who would’ve thunk it – taps aff and sunnies on again? Sounds like a good opportunity for a wee jolly through to the Edinburgh Fringe if you ask us…

In the week we crowned Ekin-Su and Davide the rightful King and Queen of the Villa, let’s take a little peek and see what’s been happening in the world of events….

SEC has 2030 vision for Net Zero; London ExCel get Carbon Neutral stamp of approval; The Fringe is back and it means business; We Will Rock EU? The impact of Brexit on europe bound events; visitors going Madchester for Manchester; and 2 fantastic young entrepreneurs make their mark on the Glasgow events space scene.

The Fringe is back and it means business

Seems an age since we last saw the fruits of our braw little festival doesn’t it? Well, it’s back. Back with bells on. This year The Edinburgh Fringe, which kicked off last Friday, is seeing over 3000 shows staged across some 239 venues, and already they’re reporting a big bump in ticket sales.

One of the festival’s principal venues,The Underbelly, is telling of a 27% boost in sales over 2019’s event, and while some other locations are a little bit behind, they seem to be picking up pace with lots projecting an big increase on pre-covid ticket sales. Although there has been some outrage garnering among visitors about the inflated prices of accomodation, it hasn’t stopped revellers flocking to the capital, ready and willing to soak up some of that big Fringey atmos.

 Let’s get over to Scotland’s capital and give it some laldy eh?

London ExCel get Carbon Neutral stamp of approval

London’s ExCel can now call itself a fully certified carbon neutral venue, as it has recently been awarded the sought after PAS 2060; the international standard for carbon neutrality. Some of the measures the venue has taken on the road towards sustainability include operating on 100% renewable electricity, employing a zero waste-to-landfill policy and most importantly, housing the the Uk’s largest wormery – good news for wiggly-woo. They’re not stopping there though, Owner’s Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) say the ExCel is firmly in place to reduce venue emissions by 50% by 2030 and will go full on Net Zero by 2050.

CEO of the ExCel, Jeremy Rees comments: “We have a unique opportunity to use our platform – and the four million people who visit our venue every year – to inform and inspire others to play their part in all aspects of making a cleaner, fairer and more equitable world.” #SustainabilityGoals

Visitors going Madchester for Manchester

One of the major exhibitor venues in the city, Manchester Central, is proving a promising ‘oasis’ for delegate attendance over the past quarter, with the location reporting a 13% rise in attendance compared to that of the same period in 2019.

With a total of 56 massive corporate events like Ocean Media Group’s Housing 2022 and The BIBA conference happening under their roof – hosting a combined amount of other 100, 000 people no less – it’s no wonder that attendance has led to a £38.2m boost for the city’s economy.

Manchester Central CEO Shaun Hinds remarks: “These last few months have been some of our busiest ever and demand has been incredibly strong. It’s brilliant to see events bounce back in the way that they have and I’m so pleased to have the ‘buzz’ back under our roof again.”

How’s about that for good news, our kid.

We Will Rock EU? The impact of brexit on Europe bound events

It’s fair to say the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU has taken its toll on the British Event’s industry. With costs rising by an astronomical 400% and documentation and logistical challenges proving growingly demanding, things are getting hairy for organisers bound for Europe based exhibitions.

The overall consensus is that for organisers looking to exhibit in any EU member state, the process is becoming increasingly more complex, similar to the challenges faced with movement to the rest of the world. Issues with customs, lead times and flexibility are making strong relationships between organisers and logistics providers evermore essential, with the latter struggling to keep up to speed with the ever-evolving situation.

Tim Marchant, general manager of global transport and logistics firm DSV offers some sage advice on the situation: “You need to start speaking to logistic companies, agents, and partners much earlier. You must start those conversations because there is no one-size-fits-all solution, [you need to] work through what it is that you need and the best thing for your shipment.”

SEC has 2030 vision for Net Zero

Dawn Lauder, the Head of International Conferences at the Scottish Events Campus, has got sights on a 2030 target for the venue to go full Net Zero.

Talking to host James Dickinson on the Events Industry News podcast, she details what the impact of SEC based COP26 has been on society, the enormity of the media coverage, and gives her own outlook on how the event has instigated change, as well as the determination it has given people to push towards a sustainable future.

Glasgow “perfect place” to launch new business

And finally, two young entrepreneurs have hailed sunny Glasgow as ‘the perfect place’ to launch a business, after experiencing a flurry of bookings since opening three months ago.

Best friends Afton Ferguson and Nikki Fairful opened The Haberdashery Events Space in April, and have been ‘welcomed with open arms’ by members of the events industry and local community. The space has been inundated with viewings and requests, as Scotland’s events industry experiences one of its busiest ever seasons following two years of Covid cancellations.

Afton said, “We never could have imagined how busy it would have been so quickly after opening. People have travelled from across the country to view the space – the reception we’ve received so far has been amazing”.

Fabulous work from 2 amazing young entrepreneurs – the more creative events spaces the better.

See y’all next time folks for some more juicy goss from the industry.

#StayHydrated