As the events industry prepares for the far-reaching impact of the coronavirus outbreak, M&IT gives you the latest news, updates and responses from UK associations, venues and event professionals.
The Event Marketing Association (EMA)
A free online forum for EMA members has been launched to discuss COVID -19 and the effect it is having on their events and businesses at large.
The forum will have resources collated to help members through these challenging times, and it will be a safe space for members to share their issues and discuss them with their peers.
James Hitchen, General Manager of the EMA said: “The EMA is uniquely positioned to gather vitally important information and opinion directly from the businesses making crucial decisions about forthcoming events. As much as we are pulling together as an industry to avoid cancellations, we are driven by the decisions of business and as we learnt in the crash of 2008, events are a very easy element to cut in times of crisis. If a corporate changes its plans, then that impacts on the whole supply chain. We will listen to the collective voice of our corporate members and feedback to the industry to help inform short to midterm strategy.”
Email James Hitchen for further information.
Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP)
Event industry partners and associations are monitoring the situation on a day-by-day basis. Simon Hughes, chair of the UK’s
Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) was interviewed on BBC’s Business Briefing on 10 March.
Hughes said that associations need to provide their members with information, case studies and news.
“The availability, particularly in the UK, of information from government departments, groups like VisitBritain, and the tourism emergency response group, is really helping people cope with the impact of this virus, which is huge.
“We have seen a couple of things called off at very short notice – two days before the event. That’s not best practice, and that’s certainly not what our partners will be doing. The decision-making process is, ‘are we going to carry on, are we going to modify, what are the risks, do we co-locate? Can we hybridise events to bring them to people using technology?’”
Meetings Industry Association (MIA)
The association supporting and growing the business meetings and events industry in the UK has been engaging with members to find out more about how COVID-19 may be having an impact upon organisations.
“The Department of Transport has issued guidance for staff in its industry and much of this is considered transferable to the business tourism sector. It is with this in mind that the mia continues to gain insights from our members and seek wider advice to offer support to our industry, with our latest findings and government resources available below.”
The association held an 'Extraordinary Matters' event on 9 March, where event professionals discussed how to prepare and overcome the challenges presented by Coronavirus COVID-19.
“While event cancellations are evident, Coronavirus does not appear to be currently having too much impact on event enquiries, with 90% of responding members experiencing no change in enquiry levels. Despite this, two-thirds of responding members do however consider the outbreak a threat to the UK business meetings and events industry,” a mia spokesperson said.
“It is clear from our findings that our industry has been diligent in its handling of the situation, with the majority of organisations developing contingency plans and issuing the necessary communication with both their employees and clients.”
UK government advice
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on 9 March to discuss whether the UK needs to move to the second phase of the government's four-part plan, which is "delay."
Future measures could include the banning of big events, closing schools and encouraging home working.
Downing Street said it accepted that the virus "is going to spread in a significant way". After the Cobra meeting, a government statement said the prime minister "will be guided by the best scientific advice" but there was no need to cancel sporting events at this stage.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell has been advised to self-isolate after meeting Nadine Dorries — the first British MP to test positive for coronavirus.
Ms Maskell tweeted: “NHS111 have advised that I self-isolate as a result of a meeting I had with the Government's Mental Health Minister last Thursday who has subsequently tested positive for Coronovirus.
“Thankfully I am asymptomatic. It is so important that we all follow all public health advice.”
The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention ECDC
The health organisation has published
a rapid risk assessment on the novel coronavirus situation in Europe.
The risk of widespread sustained transmission of COVID-19 in EU/EEA and UK in the coming weeks is moderate to high, with more countries expected to report more cases and clusters.
As of 10 March 2020, 14 890 cases have been reported in the EU/EEA and the UK: Italy (9 172), France (1 412), Spain (1 204), Germany (1 139), Netherlands (321), United Kingdom (321), Sweden (248), Belgium (239), Norway (192), Austria (131), Denmark (113), Greece (84), Iceland (65), Czech Republic (40), Finland (40), Portugal (39), Ireland (21), Poland (17), Romania (17), Slovenia (16), Croatia (12), Estonia (10), Hungary (9), Latvia (6), Luxembourg (5), Slovakia (5), Bulgaria (4), Malta (4), Cyprus (2), Liechtenstein (1) and Lithuania (1).
As of 10 March 2020, 532 deaths have been reported in the EU/EEA and the UK: Italy (464), France (30), Spain (28), United Kingdom (5), Netherlands (3) and Germany (2).
