Martin FullardThe All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) has today, 27 January, submitted a series of recommendations to the Covid Recovery Commission.
Read more: What is an All-Party Parliamentary Group?
The Commission, which is chaired by John Allan CBE, chairman of Tesco, was set up to examine the impact of the Covid crisis on the levelling-up agenda and present practical ideas to Government over the coming months to support higher productivity levels, encourage business investment and promote a culture of innovation across the UK.
The recommendations produced by the Commission will be presented to chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, ahead of his budget being presented on 3 March.
The submission highlights areas in which the events industry can play a major part in the rebuilding of the economy and the levelling up agenda, including driving tourism.
It said, “Festivals, consumer shows, sporting events, and other cultural and music events all help to animate a destination which, in turn, drives more tourism, more business visitors and investors, and students wishing to come to the UK to study – whether that be in the area of event management or in other disciplines.
“Britain’s role on the world stage post Brexit can also be boosted by a revitalised approach to government sponsorship of global events, starting with its hosting of the G7 and COP26, followed by using the Festival 2022 as a further platform for reasserting its role as a world destination of choice for events and focussing on those industry sectors that the government will wish to prioritise in any revision of its Industrial Strategy.”
Among the suggestions in the submission is the inclusion of event strategies in local authority plans to create programmes of festivals and to enhance place-making opportunities.
Another key area in the submission is the introduction of ‘Tourism Zones’, as recommended in the Industrial Strategy Tourism Sector Deal, to focus on tourism development to include new and revitalised event infrastructure.
Read the recommendations submission here.
The Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, chair of the APPG, said the forthcoming G7 Summit, which prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed would go ahead in June, shows the importance of the events industry: “The Government’s plans for the G7 summit in Cornwall show what an important and positive role events can play in boosting local economies. I hope Ministers will look seriously at this set of proposals on how events can promote training, opportunity, levelling up and prosperity.”
Members of the Commission represent businesses operating in all nations and regions of the UK and across all the major sectors of the economy, and include senior directors from organisations including Heathrow Airport, AstraZeneca, Vodafone UK, Babcock International, Hitachi and Shell UK.