Events industry feeling ‘left out’ as restrictions halt business
The lockdowns have hit the events industry harder then most. John Cooper speaks to some of the businesses which are suffering...
LIVE music events, weddings and conferences take months to prepare and support a whole network of suppliers and thousands of jobs but those in the industry are “getting to the end of their tether”.
Behind every conference, sporting event and wedding ceremony there are layers of planning which take time and sustain jobs, but this hard work can go unnoticed when you attend the final result.
The people who are the cogs keeping the events industry running in Wales are growing restless as they try to hibernate their businesses until they can welcome people back to their venues.
Pubs, bars and restaurants, gyms, leisure centres, cinemas and museums have been through periods of opening and closing over the past few months, causing serious financial trouble for many.
However, the events industry, which generated more than £160bn in revenue in the UK last year, employs thousands of people in Wales and those people are feeling “forgotten”.
Recently, the UK Government warned 525,000 event professionals’ jobs were at risk and three out of four companies in the industry may not survive.
Named one of the fastest growing sectors of the Welsh economy last year and covering anything from planning weddings to big corporate events, the operators in the sector have been unable to operate since the beginning of the first lockdown in March and many say they don’t know how much longer they can hold on.
“The whole order book disappeared overnight. For my business and the whole of Wales the problem is clients trying to postpone until 2021-22, but there’s a knock-on effect because large conferences can be booked years in advance,” said Melita Williams who operates Bespoke Business Events from bases in Penarth and Belfast.
Melita’s business covers Wales and Northern Ireland and she has made her only two full-time staff redundant.
“As well as us, there’s a massive supply chain involved in my work from venues like ICC Wales, St David’s Hotel, The Vale Hotel right through to coach companies, executive car companies, restaurants for catering, printers and florists. Our supply chain is extremely long and everybody in that chain has been affected,” she said.
Melita said the industry in Wales was growing and “really gaining traction” before March but said it is “being held back” now by the limit on the number of people who can meet inside for a business event in Wales. Up to 15 people can meet indoors for an “organised activity” or event.
She said this means that com
panies that would otherwise come to Wales are looking over the border to England where up to 30 people can attend an indoor business event or meeting, even during the newlyannounced national lockdown.
Certain activities may be able to include more than 15 people if the groups are undertaking “distinctly different activities” and fit into one of the following categories: sports and exercise activities, educational activities, organised activities for children, weddings and receptions, funerals and wakes or support groups.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “Our programme of pilot events to include public attendance at both outdoor and indoor events has been put on hold – the public health position takes precedence.
“We do understand this is a very difficult time for many sectors and we will continue to work in partnership towards a safe reopening, when the time is right.”
Stephen Burkitt-Harrington runs Production 78, one of the biggest events companies in Cardiff. Since March, it has been haemorrhaging contracts to a total of £800,000.
“I’ve dealt with difficult periods for the business in the past but never had we been told ‘you cannot go to work’, that’s been nearly impossible to overcome this year.
“A lot of us are getting to the end of our tether now. We feel completely left out even though we’ve applied for anything that’s been advertised from government,” he said.
Stephen added the Economic Resilience Fund from the Welsh Government had been “hugely oversubscribed” and the Freelancers Fund from the Cultural Recovery Fund “while welcomed was woefully insufficient and was closed after an hour of applications”.
“We can manage events where social distancing can happen, where mass testing can be delivered and can contribute to the economy again in the way the events industry does,” he added.
Gail Windley is the owner of Swansea-based wedding and event planning company, Eleanor Gail. She said the business was “on course for a record year” before the virus hit.
Gail, who has been in the industry for 10 years, has adapted her business since lockdown and has made a conscious move away from wedding planning into decor for weddings and events.
“I’ve ended up changing the way I work and moving into other areas of the wedding industry. People want something that’s tangible. Wedding planning is good for those who can afford it, but the majority of people are looking for something they can physically see or touch.
“The wedding industry is never going to be the same. In terms of Covid, I’m trying my hardest to see it as something temporary and changing my business model to suit,” she said.
Gail added she knows suppliers who have “gone to work for supermarkets” to get by and that the “light at the end of tunnel” isn’t there for many people who relied on the wedding industry for employment.
“The lack of support and having the rug pulled from under you at any time makes planning difficult: it can take six to eight weeks to plan one wedding.
“A wedding is an emotive and important day and the weight of that one day is huge for people but it feels like it’s being overlooked as frivolous and isn’t – a wedding is a big deal for people.
“The industry being cast aside like an old sock is incredibly disappointing.”
Liz Brookes from Grapevine Event Management in Canton, Cardiff, summed up the frustration of many in the events industry.
She said: “2020 was going to be our big year. I know there’s an appetite for events to come back but my concern is how quickly that can happen with the Government giving out different guidelines.
“I don’t know whether we can even get on the agenda, our hands are tied.”
The Welsh Government website states that updated guidance for indoor and outdoors events will be available soon.