Latest News: COVID-19 and the events industry (Easter Weekend)

Keep your social distance Easter Bunny. . .

The Easter Weekend is finally upon us, the sun is shining (ish) and the daffodils are slowly emerging from the ground…..not that we’d know, we’re all staying safe and staying indoors.

This week – a calming influence is the shape of an app, event profs combining to be a force for good (as usual), essential travel info in an uncertain world, a new product launch for remote audience participation, finance tips from the mighty Martin Lewis, tips and tricks to make your virtual event engaging, and a Covid-19 quick cure – yes, you read that last one correctly.

Breathe in. . .and out. . .and relax. Ahhhhh. . .

During these challenging times, we all need a little bit of tranquility in our lives – a bit of ‘me’ time to tune in and zone out. Rejoice, for the fine figures at Sparq have teamed up with @Calm to offer a month’s free access to the world’s happiest app, also handily called Calm. Enter a world of guided meditations, soothing music and bedtime stories – like a late 90s Café Del mar compilation, except in app form.

Events4Covid19 – support and assistance for organisations

Event profs are hugely resourceful – we all know that. We also know (only too well) that Covid19 has just taken a big-ass bite out of our beloved industry.

Events4Covid19 is another fine example of event profs stepping up when it matters. A network of event organisers & suppliers have pooled resources to create a single body which will work together to assist with urgent requests from the NHS, Government, charities and any other organisations that require assistance during these heinous times. Read more about this mighty initiative or get involved here.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Events Industry – we salute you.

To book or not to book. . .

One of the less tangible but more unsettling by-products of the Covid-19 era is uncertainty. No one is certain when this will end, when testing will be widely available, when travel and movement restrictions will be removed and when a vaccine will be found. With the Foreign Office updating its advice against all non-essential travel, how can event planners make any forward bookings?

This article from C&IT gives us a bit more insight into the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing travel ban and what the various travel companies are saying.

Audience participation in the palm of your hand

With massive, unprecedented disruption throughout the Event Industry (as if you didn’t know), Plyon One have accelerated the development of their new product – Delegate Live – allowing for audience participation directly from your phone though text messaging.

Ease and simplicity are core to the product’s design, ensuring maximum audience participation. This looks like another handy (no pun intended) innovation just in the nick of time – our digital team will be looking to pilot Delegate Live in the near future as part of our Cameron Live offering.

Martin Lewis for Chancellor

In times of trouble, unexpected heroes emerge. Step forward finance maestro Martin Lewis who is providing the entire country with sound and informed financial advice in real time.

Martin has handily compiled a list of this week’s Coronavirus money need-to-knows – from personal finance to business queries, the man knows his onions and explains in language that’s easy to understand. All hail Chancellor Lewis.

Virtual Events – make them immersive

Since mid-March 2020, Planet Earth has become the Upside Down – nothing is what it seems and life as we know it has been unimaginably altered. The event landscape now centres around the virtual experience, with event companies everywhere pivoting toward the virtual event – some with more success than others.

From the welcome to the breakout, this guide published by MeetingsNet outlines a few handy pointers on getting the basics right and making your virtual event an immersive, fulfilling experience.

BTW, look out for our take on Events in a post Covid World – coming soon to an expertly written events blog near you.

And finally. . .a cure’s blowin’ in the wind

Just when you thought all hope was lost and a vaccine was at least a year away, finally a credible cure has surfaced via Multi-Millionaire Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, who blown Covid-19 away through our TV screens. Phew!

All being well, everything will be back to normal by Easter Monday.

Thanks Kenneth! Some man.

Stay safe, stay inside and have a cracking Easter.
Love and virtual hugs, Cameron.