News of the Queen's death broke just 24 hours before the M&IT Awards. M&IT editor Paul Harvey reflects on how the news affected the event and the decisions faced by the organising team...
It was the news everyone had been expecting. Yet when the Queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm on Thursday 8 September, it was still a shock to have it confirmed.
After more than 70 years on the throne, the UK’s longest-serving monarch was no more. History had rattled over the points. The woman who had led the UK through some of its greatest and darkest moments, through unprecedented change, through 15 prime ministers from Sir Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, was gone.
Quite what it means for the country in the long-term is still to be seen. But in the immediate moment, on Thursday evening, one thing was clear. Business as usual was not going to cut it. And with the M&IT Awards set to take place the following night, we were faced with a situation that needed swift decision-making.
We’d already made the call that the event would go ahead. When the news emerged on Thursday lunchtime that the Queen’s doctors were concerned for her health, and she was under medical supervision at Balmoral, it was pretty clear that the situation was grave. The fact that the BBC had switched to live coverage, with all its newsreaders dressed in black, was evidence enough of that.
Changes
We knew that there was a chance that people would think that events such as our awards shouldn’t go ahead in the circumstances. But we also knew that many of our attendees would have already started travelling, made arrangements, taken flights, bought new clothes… everything. We also knew our audience was made up of event professionals, they’d understand what it meant to cancel and we felt confident that most attendees would, on balance, still want the event to go ahead.
It was clear we’d have to make some changes to the programme, though. And given that this was something that hadn’t happened in more than 70 years, it wasn’t just a case of looking back and remembering what we’d done last time. Every aspect of the evening had to be assessed for its suitability.
On Friday morning, we messaged attendees to let them know that the event was still happening, and that there would be a tribute to the Queen that evening.
We decided that it was best addressed at the beginning of the evening, with a tribute and a minute’s silence. As M&IT editor, it made most sense for me to do this, so I wrote a few lines, trying to sum up the deep loss that many were feeling and the sense of history in the air.
Moved
At 6pm, with our first guests arriving and finishing touches in full swing, King Charles III made his first address to the nation. I watched it backstage, gathered around a smartphone with a group of awards presenters doing our final run-through. The new king paid tribute to his “darling mama” and it was hard not to be moved. There were quite a few tearing up in our little huddle backstage.
Moments later, I stepped on stage to welcome people to the awards, and pay tribute to the Queen. I spoke about her life of service and devotion to the UK, and her love for the country. I mentioned that most of us have known no other monarch and she was present in all of our lives; on the money in our pockets, on the stamps on our birthday cards, on the train lines we travel on and the conference centres we organise events in – everywhere. I said that she unified us – and her absence after 70 years will be deeply felt.
Afterwards, the whole room joined together in an impeccably-observed minute’s silence, during which we played a video montage of the Queen through the ages.
Then our host Ore Oduba took to the stage with his own tribute, an unscripted moment of tenderness and appreciation for the monarch, which he ended by leading a round of applause for the Queen.
Response
After that, in event organising terms, we were pretty much back on track for the rest of the evening. We felt that we’d done the best we could for our audience, and most people seemed to think we’d hit the right tone in our response.
Beyond the initial shock and processing of the news, the experience also reminded me of the fragility of event organising. No matter how much planning you do, there will always be something that can come out of leftfield and throw you off course. The key thing is how you respond. And the best way to respond is to act honestly, confidently and decisively, with your audience at the centre of your thinking.
Not everyone will have agreed with all the decisions we made last Friday. With a room of 700 people encompassing every view from staunch Royalist to committed republican, we were never going to be able to please everybody. But I am a firm believer that if you try to do your best and act with integrity, then that’s what people respond to, and that will be good enough.
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
