365 days of a Pandemic

11th March 2020 - I was up early, (having not really slept: Event Director norm) all excited for our Revolution Events Masterclass event, wearing my new Revolution branded tee and hoodie. 

This is an event we invite any of our sponsors and exhibitors to, with fantastic content based on how to maximise ROI from events and event marketing, with awesome guest speakers (Nick does a star turn on stage too, he won’t let me stage crash at this event!) and we even have demonstration stands showing best practice for stand designs. It is a community event, full of old friends and new.

I remember getting in the car at 6am and knowing that covid-19 was around and we needed to *elbow bump* but we didn’t need to worry too much about it as long as we washed our hands. We didn’t think it would affect us much.

By the time the event closed, The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic and it hijacked our lives.

We didn’t foresee the next 12 months could be so horrific - Since then more than 116 million cases and 2.5 million deaths across nearly 200 countries

One kid in my life has likened it to a zombie apocalypse, another kid has likened it to what Thanos was trying to achieve (a Marvel natural selection thought process) and one kid convinced kids don’t get coronavirus because they are the ones trying to save the planet not kill it, us adults are being punished…

During the long lockdowns, I won’t lie, I’ve thought on the views of the younglings and I totally understand how they got there in their minds!

This invisible war has been so hard to manage, it is the un-sick who spread the virus most readily* and the worldwide spread has closed our event doors for 12 months today. This has been really hard for us as individuals and a company, as bringing people together is what we do, and we do it well! We love being on-site and seeing the fruits of our labour as we see business conversations take place, hands being shook on deals (anyone else shudder at the thought of shaking hands right now?) and excellent feedback from both sponsors and delegates.

We have great relationships with our sponsors as we work with many of them year on year, and I’d like to take this opportunity to officially thank you all for your patience with us. We are aware that a lot of people have been hit very hard and we understand that this situation not only impacts our company but exhibitors and sponsors across all sectors and industries.   I know you all watch the news like I do, and understand why we have had to reschedule events, but your support has been overwhelming. Thank you ?

We hoped for Autumn 2020, then Spring 2021, however - simple evolution has been at work, it is nothing personal but frustrating that the virus evolves because of variation and selection. In a pandemic involving hundreds of millions of infections and trillions of viral replications, it was bound to happen. With the worlds top scientists on the case, and with the fantastic vaccine roll out that the UK has, we are now very confident for Autumn 2021.

Revolution Events have pivoted and run some fantastic virtual events, involving industry thought leaders, vendors large and small, worldwide qualified audiences and (perhaps my favourite) Stephen Mulhern! We’ve embraced the learning and stayed up late at night, but executed events to our own ridiculously high standards! So we have been keeping busy, but in all honesty, we cannot wait to get on-site!

The most important thing to us has been the physical and mental wellbeing of all of our stakeholders. We have digested the news very closely, reviewed the latest guidance from the government in great detail and taken advice from industry bodies, all the time knowing that our overriding priority, as ever, is to deliver a great and safe event for all our delegates, sponsors, speakers, staff and everyone involved in hosting any exhibition or conference.

Now, we all play a part in getting us out of lockdown - We must take seriously the possibility that we may spread the virus unknowingly and that the un-sick may be serving the virus. We must follow the law and guidance in each step if we want this emergence from lockdown to be sustainable, and believe it or not there is research that shows it is possible some people have “anti-symptoms” of this virus: temporary reduction in pain, feeling more energetic than normal, so with this in mind, don't think you are not infected. Here’s some advice from a Professor of Emergency Medicine, and yes it sounds off but: If you’ve been feeling surprisingly good the last few days, you might want to get a COVID-19 test.

I am sure you will all understand that we are bursting to help get our exhibitors and stakeholders back on their feet; running great events that deliver leads, contacts, new relationships and sales opportunities for the market. We’ve had a lot of enquiries and bookings for our Autumn events the last month and venues have seen a 294% increase in event bookings since the roadmap was announced. 

There is a massive pent-up demand for business to business events

(I know Sales guys, we have heard you, we will be able to help you soon!)

The Event Industry Alliance has written an open letter to the DCMS asking for an update on the Events Research Programme (The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports pilot events will run again in April, with new covid-mitigation measures)

We'll follow all guidance (and our own high Revolution Events H&S standards) to get Britain meeting again and see you all soon.

Oh. And Nick, I will be on stage at the next one!

For those attending my events with social networking later this year, mine’s a glass of fizz thanks!

D

* About 40% of those with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic spreaders, never showing symptoms at all. And those who do show symptoms are most contagious in the two days before symptoms appear.