BVEP demands help after Government's 'profoundly disappointing' statement

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) is demanding help from the Government after the summer budget statement, made on 8 July, failed to address the reopening of the events industry.

Simon Hughes, chair of the BVEP, said that while there is still significant demand for business events in the UK, any events planned for Q3 & Q4 of 2020 are “like sand in the hand” as there is no official guidance or restart date for the industry.

Describing last week’s announcement as "profoundly disappointing", the BVEP, the umbrella body and advocacy group for the UK’s £70 billion events industry, is now calling on the Government to save the industry from "complete collapse" by providing further targeted and long-term support for the sector.

This support includes:

• Without a start date announced within the next seven days, the medical and scientific evidence that has led to such a decision should be provided to the industry for further review.
• Failure to provide a date should also trigger a specific raft of measures designed to sustain the events industry into 2021, with fiscal support to enable both fixed and variable business costs to be met.
• Freelance talent and the vast number of SME businesses that make up the event industry will also require specific support, as many have not benefitted from any of the existing measures that have been put in place so far and many continue to face significant hardship.
• The Government will be urged to create a significant and sector-specific Recovery Fund, to help kickstart and rebuild the events industry over the next three years, as has been done with the cultural sector.

Simon Hughes, chair of the BVEP, said: “We have heard directly from our Minister and his officials who accept that there is nothing more that we can do to argue our case at the present time.

“While we find this difficult to accept, we now have to start looking at what will be required to enable the event industry to survive this unacceptable and unexplained delay. Every single day counts, and we now need bigger and bolder action to save our industry, get back to making meetings matter, creating terrific tradeshows, engaging audiences with experiences and delivering brilliant live content at conferences designed to help the UK bounce back safely and securely.”

Last week’s announcement did address the reopening of outdoor events, an industry which is worth £30.4bn. Outdoor performances, county shows, firework displays, and a range of other small-scale events will now be allowed if they adhere to the Covid-19 secure planning guidance.

“As welcome as this news is for the outdoor events industry and coupled with the various other measures outlined in the summer statement from the Chancellor that will help the hospitality sector, the fact is that over 50 per cent of the visitor economy depends on the activity generated by the UK events sector,” added Hughes.

“Half price vouchers for a meal in August won’t compare to the economic impact that the business events industry will bring to bear when it is allowed to re-start.  If we can’t get a re-start date in the next week or two our focus will inevitably have to switch from restarting to seeking massive fiscal support to sustain the event industry that appears to be at the very back of a very long queue.  The reality is we should be in the much shorter queue for those willing and able to help kick start the economic revival.