Christopher BarrettAs we head toward the first full-length events season since 2019, the industry is bracing itself for what looks set to be one of the busiest and most demanding periods yet experienced.
With that in mind, Access All Areas canvassed the opinions of leading event professionals from across the industry, including promoters, venue operators, production agency owners, festival organisers, sustainability specialists and association heads. Here they provide their views on the major challenges ahead but also the many opportunities.
Hugh Brasher – London Marathon race director
What do you believe will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022, and what measures would you like to see taken to tackle them?
Some of the biggest challenges are with people – whether it’s an organisation’s staff or event day roles such as volunteers or stewards.
The pandemic has had a huge cultural effect on how people view their lives. It has prompted people to re-assess their lives, whether that’s where they live or the jobs they are doing and retaining that talent pool of staff in an organisation will be a challenge for all companies. But with every downside there is also a potential upside and this will also provide an opportunity to refresh your organisation and bring in new talent. There will also be the continued challenge of absenteeism caused by Covid-19 as we have seen most recently with the Omicron variant and we will need to continue with extra contingency planning for our events.
Then there is the issue and impact inflation will have on the industry. There is talk of a potential 7% rise in inflation which is something we haven’t had for such a long time. A lot of it is driven by the issues of production in factories in Asia being shut down for some length of time and that is still going on.
There are going to be challenges for us all but we can tackle them together. One of the good things to have come out of the past 24 months or so in our sector is the mass participation running events organisers coming together to form the MSO group to help each other get through this. We have never worked like this before. We have shared challenges, given each other alternative routes of supply, reported issues with volunteers and passed on new contacts. We need to continue to do this, to keep lines of communication open and to improve our reporting and sharing.
Lucy Noble – National Arenas Association chair and Royal Albert Hall artistic director
After nearly two years of the pandemic, do you believe anything positive has come out of it?
The LIVE Group has been a really positive outcome of the pandemic. We are now working together on industry-wide issues which go further than Covid. There are a series of different committees within the LIVE group which are all undertaking important work to cover equality, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, issues around Brexit, and more. I chair the venues sub-committee and as venue operators we have all found that meeting extremely valuable. For the first time we have a committee that represents nearly all the UK-based music venues. As a result, the music industry has a voice with DCMS that we didn’t at the start of the pandemic.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
It’s crucial that the sector both reflects and attracts modern Britain. That means an eclectic, forward-looking and progressive events programme that both satisfies our existing audiences and enables us to build new ones. I think there’s a chance to remind the world just what live events are all about and why they are so special – particularly amid the drudgery and sameness of pandemic life, they represent an escape.
Nick Morgan – We Are The Fair CEO
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
From the discussions I have had with various advisers, it is suggested that Covid is endemic and we have to manage the disease and not let it manage us. Lockdowns aren’t working and have a devastating effect on business and more importantly mental health. I am hoping we are in a better position to manage Covid implications on shows, however the supply chain is still decimated. You will have seen the high-profile cancellation of Winter Lights at Canary Wharf citing supplier issues.
After nearly two years of the pandemic do you believe anything positive has come out of it?
Albeit I still believe the Government doesn’t understand the operational nuances of our sector, we have managed to drill home the value of the sector and I feel it finally realises we present huge benefits whether it’s for Brand Britain or the economic monetary contribution we make year in year out. We are the fourth or fifth biggest economy in the UK – depending on which pundit you engage with.
Kevin Moore –Vision Nine festivals director
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
Supply chain remains by far the biggest challenge to the festival industry in 2022, both liquidity of contractors and availability of kit. Festivals need confidence that events will be going ahead in 2022 so that they can pay deposits and get things moving.
After nearly two years of the pandemic, do you believe anything positive has come out of it?
Absolutely. The pandemic has challenged us to look at things differently, how we plan our shows, how we deliver our shows, how we sell our shows to the consumer. Whilst the challenges have been huge they have definitely helped to drive innovation at a mirco and macro level.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
Not being able to use red diesel, whilst a financial challenge, presents a brilliant opportunity for festivals to accelerate their switch to renewable energy sources. Why spend all that extra money on carbon-based fuels when you can invest in renewables?
Joanna Wales – Ascot head of venue operations
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
During our budget process last year three words kept being repeated: materials, labour and transport and sadly, I think they will be the key areas of concern for 2022. The pandemic continues to affect every staffing group; at the last raceday we had to bring in grounds staff from Windsor and Newbury Racecourses. The last two years have had a devastating impact on the gig economy and the event day staff pool has decreased, yet the expectations of the customer is that the experience levels should remain the same as they were in 2019. We need to work as a collective to make working in the hospitality industry attractive again, and ensure that we don’t create a false economy by competing for the staff from the smaller pool. Ensuring better training at venues, creating a recognisable suite of training and experiences that staff can take from venue to venue would change the gig economy roles into the more professional ones that we see in other countries. Also, we should be ensuring that working at events is made appealing again, taking good care of our event staff will ensure retention just as much as higher hourly rates.
Geoff Ellis – DF Concerts CEO
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
The biggest challenge that faces the industry in 2022 will be regaining confidence from the public that live events are safe to attend and will go ahead, especially with the varying messages and restrictions which are in place in each of the UK’s devolved nations which has created additional confusion and uncertainty. This is where the tourism bodies, such as Visit Britain and Visit Scotland, need to put together an extensive campaign to promote our rich and diverse, world-class live entertainment industry, which will in turn give a huge boost to the tourism and hospitality industries in the UK.
From an international touring perspective, we need the rest of Europe (at least) to also be open for events to make it more viable for US artists to tour across Europe. Covid cancellation insurance needs to be available to purchase at a realistic price. My understanding is that not one single event has used the UK government’s scheme, which underlines the fact that it is not fit for purpose.
As a result of the mixed restrictions across the UK, we are seeing some January and February tours going ahead with the English leg of their tour but having to cancel or postpone the Scottish dates. This, coupled with the, generally, slower than expected ticket sales due to the public confidence surrounding events going ahead or not, is putting unprecedented strain on the live events industry in Scotland. Positivity and confidence is required to kick start what is set up to be one of Scotland’s busiest years ever for music events, particularly outdoors. Availability of venues in 2022 is also proving difficult due to the amount of shows which have rescheduled to 2022 from 2020 and 2021 so, any further rescheduling of shows will mean that recovery won’t start happening well in to 2024 which could a devastating impact on the wider industry.
Susan Tanner – NOEA CEO
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
The biggest challenge we see is resource. It’s something we at NOEA have been talking a lot about over the last few years; we believed that, with the amount of people and businesses lost to the pandemic, the industry would walk into a period of high-volume events without the expertise, experience, and now, physical kit, to handle it. It’s frustrating and we’re doing all we can to bring new people in, and get old heads back into the industry, but there remains a lack of incentive for them.
Equally, event organisers need to play their part in making the industry attractive to those looking at it as a potential career. This means paying better wages, not just the minimum wages, so we can get the very best talent. This is where we need support; to make having an events business, or a career in events, a viable proposition. 
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin – UK Music CEO
After nearly two years of the pandemic, do you believe anything positive has come out of it and are we better placed to collectively face challenges as a result?
It’s obviously difficult to take many positives from the past two years, which have been devastating for our industry. But if there’s something to come out of it, it’s the fact that politicians and policy makers have seen just how important music is to the public – as we showed in our This Is Music 2021 report, live music was one of the things people missed most during the lockdowns, while listening to recorded music has been one of the things keeping us sane throughout this pandemic. The public has a really profound emotional connection to our industry, and as we look to move beyond the pandemic it’s important that we leverage that with government. Music is a priority for the public, so it should be a priority for politicians too.
What do you believe are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
Sustainable solutions and emerging technologies are two great examples, but I’m also really excited about the growing awareness around the music and health agenda. There’s increasing evidence about the huge benefits that music can have for mental health and wellbeing, and the impact it can have on people with specific conditions like dementia. It’s something we’ve talked about as a sector for a while, and governments and the wider health and care system are finally starting to take notice. This is a big opportunity for us a sector, and I believe that in the years to come, music will be nationally important for the whole country not just because it is an economic driver and is a vehicle of social change, but also because of its incredible power and potential to boost our collective health and wellbeing.
John Langford – AEG Europe COO
What do you believe will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022, and what measures would you like to see taken to tackle them?
I’m afraid that despite the improved outlook on last year, 2022 will still be dominated by the impacts of Covid. The symptoms of this hangover, now all too familiar, include sluggish ticket demand, production/crew health risks, no shows and refunds, routing challenges, venue availability, lack of meaningful government support, and insurance limitations. I am nevertheless confident that as the summer approaches the direct impact of the pandemic on our business will lessen and the situation will gradually improve. Recovery will be slow but steady, and driven by the entrepreneurial spirit and determination that has always been a fundamental pillar of live music sector.
After nearly two years of the pandemic, from an industry perspective do you believe anything positive has come out of it?
Winston Churchill was right – ‘Never waste a good crisis’. Notwithstanding the huge challenge of the last two years the sector will recover stronger than ever. I am encouraged by the way we have pulled together across the industry in a coordinated manner to face the challenges – up and down the value chain and arm-in-arm with competitors, we have put the needs of the industry first. We’ve recognised the value of the sector, and the power of the live experience which simply cannot be replicated.
Clare Goodchild – We Organise Chaos director
What do you believe will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022, and what measures would you like to see taken to tackle them?
Linked to the supply chain issues is burnout. We have less staff in our pool; and we are all fatigued from the past two years. In short, our capacity to overcome stress and anxiety has been taken up with the pandemic, and adding the extra stress of producing shows will become a mental battle for some people. Couple this with the fact that some of us are totally not match fit. There are festivals that haven’t run for two years, and now we have to step back into it again. It will be tough, and teams need to have a good awareness of this fact when planning resilience and schedules.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
2022 is really the year to look at our impact on the world, and make changes towards that impact being more positive. We have all had the time to consider in more detail our wellbeing, the environment, social justice and change, and we need make sure we don’t lose sight of those issues.
Chris Johnson – Shambala festival co-founder and Vision: 2025 chair
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
There is momentum after COP26, and the seeds are truly sown for real action in 2022 with the LIVE Green Vision, Green Code of Conduct, Music Climate PACT, Vision:2025 and Race to Zero all providing frameworks and impetus. This is the year when absolutely every organisation has to measure their carbon footprint and get a net zero strategy in place.
Battery technology and smart energy monitoring systems will be rapidly adopted over the next year or two, accelerated by events looking to save fuel as red diesel fuel duty relief comes to an end in March.
Michael Kill – Night Time Industries Association CEO
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022, and what measures would you like to see taken to tackle them?
The biggest challenge for the industry is “uncertainty”, given the affordable or limited cover against covid lockdown or loss, it has affected event organisers in terms of financial planning and risk. We are also subject to a Government narrative that has created a resonating concern around social gatherings or events which are presented as no shows or reduced numbers pre Christmas. The Government needs to have a long-term strategy for dealing with covid variants which will allow for a sustainable trading period for events to take place, the stop-start strategy has been catastrophic for the events sector given the event cycle, given the level of planning and timeline required.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
Following the devastation, described almost as the five stages of grief, we are emerging from this pandemic with a focus on opportunity, across many sectors this is being viewed as a ground zero moment, where we have an opportunity to address sustainability, inclusion, mental health and work on future proofing our sector, but also focus on ensuring we have a strong representation at central Government level to develop our industry’s political voice for the future.
John Giddings promoter Isle of Wight Festival
What will be the biggest challenges for the industry in 2022?
Getting shows back on. We are worried about January and February. Ticket sales stalled over Christmas with the onset of Omicron, and the public need to feel safe to return.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
Making festivals cashless and getting the internet to work properly in fields under all weather conditions.
Dave Keighley – Production Services Association chairman
From an industry perspective do you believe anything positive has come out of the pandemic?
One of the most positive things to come out of the last two years is that all parts of the live music and events industry are at last, talking to each other. With associations like LIVE, the TPG , WeMakeEvents, BVEP and others, finally the whole industry is working together to work out solutions to enable shows and events to take place. We have been lobbying the Government for financial support, working with DCMS to ease restrictions on working in the EU and we at the PSA, through our charity Stagehand, have given out thousands of grants to support individuals suffering the worst financial impacts of the last two years.
What are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
The most important thing regarding sustainability is that the whole industry is now talking about it and talking about it in a serious and meaning full way. There are many things we can all do, we need to work together and understand what has been damaging in our design, logistics, routing and use of single use materials in the past and explore our overall approach to changing how we work in the future.
Simon Durrant – Epsom Downs & Kempton Park Racecourses general manager
Do you believe anything positive has come out of the pandemic and are we better placed to collectively face challenges as a result?
The pandemic has made our teams much more adaptable and has fostered more flexibility in the way we work, whether that’s by working from home or in other ways. We’ve also seen racegoers showing a renewed appreciation of live events again after many months of not being able visit our venues. That demonstrates that no matter how good virtual events have become, especially during the pandemic, there really is no substitute for tangible experiences.
What do you believe are the biggest opportunities for the sector in 2022 and subsequent years?
Sustainability is undoubtedly a hugely important factor in consumer decisions and is at the forefront of our thinking. For example, we are working with a company to turn our single use cups into clothing, which has been well received. Customers want to know that by attending an event they aren’t doing so at the expense of the planet so innovations which allow the industry to reduce its carbon footprint should be welcomed.
Laura Armstrong senior project manager Loud Sound Events
What will be the biggest challenges in 2022?
There’s a widespread belief that 2021 was an isolated year in terms of its challenges but I definitely don’t think that’s the case. The supply chain is still proving to be extremely challenging, with all the kit still out there on the Covid sites causing difficulties, so it’s about engaging with and supporting the supply chain as early as possible. We can do that by committing to events as soon as possible so that they know that they need to hold that kit. That’s a key piece of work that a lot of festival companies are looking at at the moment.
This article was published in the February edition of Access All Areas. Read it here, and/or subscribe for free here.