The Power of Events platform launched with an event at Here at Outernet in London, which saw
partners and supporters join the core team to explore the new UK event industry platform.
Bringing
together the seven sectors that make up the UK event industry, the launch event was
an opportunity to thank 200 of the supporters and partners that have contributed to help deliver the
platform.
The platform is now live and available for everyone to explore. The platform content showcases the seven core sectors including overview videos, 100 plus industry community organisations, 44 news articles referenced, 90 plus industry calendar events profiled and hundreds of business supporters recognised.
Attendees at the lauch represented all sectors, and the audience was also shown video
messages sent in from Melvin Benn at Live Nation/Festival Republic, Jeremy Rees - CEO of ExCel
London, Mike Kunheim - MD of Jack Morton Worldwide, Gill Tee - co-founder of Blackdeer Festival,
Rachael McGuickin - Visit Belfast and Dodge Woodall, founder of Bournemouth 7s Festival.
Cross-sector collaboration
The Power of Events evolved from the One
Industry One Voice campaign during the pandemic. As a response to the lessons learnt during that
time and the need to improve the data and research required to support the UK event industry, the
Power of Events was established to continue building on the cross-sector collaboration and
commitment to showcasing all aspects of the industry.
Founder Rick Stainton led the short launch presentation with a quick tour of the platform which
allows people to explore the UK event industry across all sectors and with access to all the key
industry communities. He was clear that the effort and work undertaken to get to the launch
was just the start of the mission.
He said: “We’ve seen how bringing together some of our leading event businesses and organisations with
academic support from our ten university partners has the potential to be a game changer in the
way our industry is seen and understood. Making those connections was the first step – now we’ll
be curating those relationships to help deliver robust data for the industry and evidence-based
research.
“None of this would have been possible without the fantastic support we’ve had from all of
our partners and supporters and we also wanted to acknowledge that and thank them for their
commitment and belief in the mission we’ve set ourselves.”
Stainton also thanked the Taskforce and Action Groups that have been established to ensure full
cross-sector representation.
Engagement
Director of The Power of Events Simon Hughes highlighted the importance of engaging with both
students and the next generation of young talent as a critical element in the overall mission moving
forwards.
He said: “We work in a world where our ability to deliver creative solutions to often complex and
challenging requests sets us apart from many other career options. That diversity and the wide
range of skills we require to maintain our world-class reputation is both an opportunity and a barrier.
This resource has been designed to help us break down those barriers and make us more
competitive when it comes to attracting new talent into the UK events industry.”
Stainton also confirmed that the web insight app will be launched later this spring with a cross Four
Nations roadshow and urged people to explore the platform, share it with others and give feedback
to help make it as comprehensive, representative and current as possible.
Attendees included representatives from Notting Hill Carnival, AEG Europe, ASM Global, London Marathon, George P Johnson, TRO, ExCel London, WRG, Identity, DRPG, Wasserman, Smyle, Montgomery Group, Rego, Star Group, SunBelt Rentals, Creative Technology, JA Productions, Event Grads, SFL Group, Entourage Pro, alongside university, association, support organisation and media partners. Also in attendance were representatives of freelance and online communities such as NOWIE, UK Live Event Freelancers Forum and event management students invited from University partners including Leeds Beckett, Westminster and Greenwich.
To explore the platform in more detail visit www.thepowerofevents.org.
