Events: It's great to be back, but it's bloody tough out there.

Over the past few weeks, as the festival season has edged closer, I've had a host of conversations with friends, colleagues, suppliers, partners, customers, competitors and fellow #eventprofs. Without exception, they have all gone pretty much the same way.

I'm para-phrasing somewhat however the overall sentiment would be something along these lines...

"If we thought getting through a global pandemic was going to be the end of the challenge, we were somewhat wide of the mark."        

First, some context:

Despite government protestations to the contrary, the events industry more or less made it through Covid as a result of its own grit, ingenuity and sheer bloody mindedness. Granted, furlough was a considerable support but the much-lauded Culture Recovery Fund served mainly to back well-established recipients of exchequer funding and a random cross-selection of people who managed to land on a decent argument for support. The supply chain missed out almost entirely.

Those who know me would hopefully agree that I am 'glass half-full' kind of person. Across the past couple of years, I have spoken frequently about the opportunities presented by re-imagining our industry and refocusing our priorities on the people who work for and with us. We are a resilient industry and I was absolutely certain we would come bounding back as a hedonistic decade of social re-integration emerged on the back of Covid.

In 2021, when delivering the 14th Bournemouth 7s Festival, our incredible team saw that in action. With just 42 days notice and thanks to an abundance of good will, support and love from just about everyone involved - we managed to deliver our biggest and best festival to date. That's not marketing speak - it's absolutely the truth and it was massively needed after 27 months of uncertainty.

Delivering a festival with just 6 weeks of relative certainty was a big ask for our team. Whilst we had been hard at work for what seemed like years, the government green light allowed us to plan with certainty and unlock the cheque book. I've spoken regularly about my tremendous pride in delivering that show over the August Bank Holiday in 2021 however it was certainly not without its challenges. I felt and hoped that they were a result of a condensed event season, for a sector which was having to spring back to life at breakneck speed. 2022 would, I supposed, be somewhat simpler.

Wrong.

Granted, our event, much like the broader events industry can't expect to operate in isolation from macro-economic factors. Global events will always take their toll on the inter-related supply chains that power the world economy. The war in Ukraine is, of course, a much more important consideration than bringing some people together to play sport and party in a field.

With that caveat duly acknowledged, it is worth mentioning the challenging cocktail of complexities which we, like event professionals across the UK, are currently facing.

Supply Chain

The events industry supply chain was irrevocably changed by Covid. People left and companies were forced to pivot to survive. Those who didn't may very well have folded. As such, there is less equipment and far fewer people to deliver/install/produce/manage that kit than there was just a couple of years ago.

Economic theory dictates that when supply reduces, demand increases and, inevitably, costs rise. Companies who need to solidify their Covid recovery and factor in their own cost increases are presenting prices which, in my experience, have risen by anything from 10% to 100%. In similar situations in the past, we would have gone to market but the reality at the moment is that there is not much of an open market - particularly for key event infrastructure.

Speaking recently to Stand Out Magazine, Melvin Benn, probably the biggest name in festival promotion, agreed that managing the challenges in the supply chain has been "a bloody nightmare".

Oversaturated Market

'Oversaturation' has been cited by a number of promoters as the reason for a series of high-profile cancellations over the past couple of weeks. I suppose it's not surprising that so many companies have sought to announce huge shows with massive line ups as the country emerges from the pandemic. The reality though is that there is not sufficient customer demand to sustain the wide variety of events currently in the schedules.

The Great British public are facing their own cost pressures. The costs of living are increasing for everyone and young people, who contribute significantly to festival audiences, are facing the brunt of these rises. It's more important than ever for our proposition to be affordable. The challenge there is that, as previously mentioned, costs are increasing at circa 20%. Static income and increased costs is an equation which, clearly, doesn't benefit anyone.

Other Factors

If I was to write a couple of paragraphs about each challenge we face, I'd probably still be here when the dates of Bournemouth 7s Festival fling open in 43 days time. In brief however, these would include:

• Increased fuel costs due to a variety of factors including the removal of red diesel and UK Government decisions to leverage increase taxes on the alternatives
• Ongoing challenges in the security industry caused by a 'perfect storm' of factors
• Major events such as the Commonwealth Games and their impact on infrastructure availability for smaller events
• Servicing and re-paying debts and losses incurred throughout the pandemic
• Delivering on the 'Better Industry' we all agreed was needed during our 'downtime' including improvements on sustainability, staff welfare and diversity
• Replacing the knowledge and expertise which has left the Events Industry over the past couple of years.

So Craig, I hear you say, is there any good news or should we all pack it in and go work for Amazon?

As ever, my confidence on the future comes from this amazing bunch of people ??

It's certainly tough out there at the moment. Costs are increasing and income is challenging to secure but we are an incredibly resilient, professional and powerful industry.

In surviving Covid, and delivering shows within weeks of 'freedom day', our entire sector proved its mettle. In our world, the Bournemouth 7s Festival team proved to me that a small but committed group can achieve anything that it puts its mind to.

If we trust in our product and rely on our people, then we will make it through these challenging times to deliver great events and push forward as an industry. We have an obligation to go beyond where we were in 2019. We need the events industry to be more caring, more sustainable and more diverse. It's only by working together that we will be able to achieve those grand objectives for our sector.

Whilst the headlines during Covid were constantly and unrelentingly negative, the skills and resilience which we acquired are just some of the positives to come from those dark days.

So yes, it is tough. But, yes, it is great to be back.

Stay positive, keep looking after those people around you and be confident that 2023 will be easier (hopefully) ??