Joe GallopThe National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) has welcomed the announcement of the £750m government-backed insurance scheme, announced yesterday.
NOEA, in partnership with other industry associations and the two All Party Parliamentary Groups concerned with the events industry, has been a supporter of a government-backed insurance scheme since the beginning of the year.
NOEA president Tom Clements said the scheme can play an important role in securing the future of the industry: “Although we’ve had some events this year, a number couldn’t run with the risk of no insurance cover, there has remained a massive cloud over the future of the industry that this scheme will begin to disperse,” he said.
“The biggest issue we have as an industry is the confidence and risk attached to putting on major events. Until now there just hasn’t been the incentive for events to take place beyond 2021; those that have, are doing so because of commitments made, and tickets sold, back in 2018/19. This scheme reduces the risk and ups the incentives; in short, whereas before we have had events, now we have an opportunity to rebuild an events industry.
“Unfortunately, we do need to underline that we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “We’ve lost a lot of people, a lot of skill and talent, and we also have businesses that still have had no income for the last two years. We need government to look after these businesses until summer 2022.
“What is positive though is that this government has heard us and reacted to our suggestions. It’s a really positive moment for everyone that loves live festivals and events.”