As the UK basks in the afterglow of Jubilee celebrations and Glastonbury weekend, we consider their effect on the corporate event industry.
June 2-5 2022, the UK celebrated a historic 70 years of reign by Queen Elizabeth II. And everywhere you looked, whether on TV, social media or in retail outlets, people, communities, and businesses were planning celebrations alongside the official national event programme.
Following the Jubilee’s incredible live concert, seriously impressive drone display, and a pageant down The Mall aimed at ‘regenerating the arts’, we’ve had a weekend of live music at Glastonbury.
The Worthy Farm festival finally celebrated its 50th anniversary in style after a pandemic-induced hiatus. And while armchair viewers could watch performances streamed on BBC iPlayer, the live event was still packed full of enthusiastic festival-goers of all ages.
“The festival is a mainstream example of what we’re seeing in the corporate event sector.”, says our MD Kerry Edwards. She continued: “The spring has seen in-person events such as conferences, AMGs, and incentives, taking off. Every event and venue professional I speak to has been working on back-to-back events for several months.”
But what about the Jubilee and Glasto?
“Throughout June and into this week, we’re seeing an even sharper uptake in bookings right through into spring 2023. Some of these bookings come from clients who have been slower to get back to face-to-face events. They’ve been using Zoom for meetings or a hybrid/virtual approach to bigger events for two years and are suddenly back to booking lives. We’re certain some of the newfound confidence is a result of the hugely attended and promoted UK events this month.”
“Coming together is human nature, and seeing so many people on television doing that again in such big numbers, has brought about a booking surge. I think while businesses have increased confidence for bigger events, it’s making delegates more comfortable with the level of risk. After testing the water with a few smaller meetings and gatherings, many are happy to join a larger-scale company event in person.”
And it’s not all about the confidence levels.
Kerry says: “The Jubilee showed people what the event sector is capable of – across the world, not just nationally. I believe the global showcasing has brought back an itch in many corporate event professionals to demonstrate some of the Jubilee’s technology and logistical flawlessness themselves. It has reignited a spark of creativity lacking – through no fault of their own – in the last few years.”
Many echo this sentiment, including Meetings and Incentive Travel (M&IT) magazine’s editor, Paul Harvey. In Paul’s post-Jubilee feature, ‘Why eventprofs should be proud of their role in the Platinum Jubilee’, he sums it up perfectly: “Truly, it was an incredible advertisement for the creativity and skills of the UK’s eventprof community.”
Covid certainly hasn’t gone away, and event, meeting and venue professionals are certainly prepared for it in terms of health and safety guidance. Yet it certainly feels as though the UK event sector can, in the words of Glastonbury headliner and legend Sir Paul McCartney, ‘Get back to where you once belonged’.
If you want to discuss ideas for your next event get in touch with the team. Alternatively, why not use of free venue finding service below:
Bien Venue is a boutique creative agency that specialises in a free UK venue finding service. It’s not just workshops, training, conferences, or off-site meetings we can arrange and venue search for but also away days, residential training events, awards ceremonies, networking, roadshows, hybrid events, summer parties, Christmas celebrations, private dining, team building, incentives, employee engagement hampers, as well as virtual activities. We also offer accommodation booking platforms for both corporate bookers and event-specific allocations of bedrooms.
What does Event Management mean to us?
We see event management as any part of the planning process from conception to delivery. It’s not just the onsite event management we specialise in but also the pre-planning and logistics plus post-event. Our flexible approach means you can pick and choose which of our services you would like to use.