Live Events are Back!

Live Events are Back!

Now that Freedom Day has finally arrived it could finally be the light at the end of the tunnel that we have all been waiting for!

The live event industry has taken a massive hit from the impact of COVID-19 and the enforced government lockdowns. Like many industries it has tried its best to adapt with virtual performances and drive-thru gigs, but ultimately it’s not an industry that can really give its best performance through screens or by socially distancing!

Live events are all about people getting together and having a good time, and now that is needed more than ever.

Understandably there is still a lot of caution, after all even though the vaccine program is doing a great job there is still a lot of work to do. The virus hasn’t gone away, so it is important that there are still measures in place to keep it at bay. It seems like now the government is pushing for society to take the lead and to make their own decisions and act responsibly.  

Businesses always have a big part to play in society because we rely on them to set the tone and provide a service for the things we need.

Many businesses in the hospitality and events industry have had a very raw deal throughout the pandemic with their businesses and livelihoods taking a big hit, it is quite something when overnight you get told that your business and only income, which you have spent years building and developing is all of sudden cut off completely. 

A lot of businesses didn’t get government support and unfortunately when some help was finally available it was too late and sadly, they had to call it a day.

So now it is down to the surviving businesses to help shape the landscape of the hospitality and events sector to make it a safe place for people to return whilst trying to recover their livelihoods.

These businesses have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders it won’t be an easy task to try and bring back this industry after everything it has been through. 

Innovation will be key, it is usually the thing that pushes society forward and helps in challenging situations such as what we are facing. The event industry has seen a lot of innovation in the last few years, one of the key areas was in the handling of tickets and resale.

This is because promoters wanted to control the flow of tickets and to keep everything in a closed loop so only promoters can profit from any sale of tickets.

This makes sense if you are a promoter or artist that wants to get the most money from your event, but the reality of this means less freedom for the people buying the tickets.

And when we are looking at businesses to help shape the future of the sector to help make the return of live events as safe as possible, one of the things everyone needs more than ever after Freedom Day is the freedom to do whatever they want with their own event ticket.

If someone gets pinged a few days before an event and they can’t get a refund, we should all have the freedom to give that ticket to a family member, friend or try and get a bit of money back from whatever resale platform we choose.

We all understand that event businesses don’t like to give refunds because it is bad for their business models, but if that is the case then people need to be given more freedom with their tickets so they make the right choices. 

The last thing we want is lots of people ignoring government guidance and turning up to events potentially having COVID-19, because they don’t want to lose out on their hard earned money and end up creating mass spreading events.

It is understandable after a difficult year most promoters that are setting up events will look to make the most money they can and ultimately, they will want to keep people safe as well, but for that to really happen people need to have the protection financially so that they can do the right thing so everyone is kept safe.

The most important part of the much needed return of live event sector is to make sure that it is set up in a way that people are kept as safe as possible and we will be relying on the industry businesses to set that tone, we can only hope that they will make decisions that benefit people rather than looking to protect themselves and their businesses.

The pandemic has given a lot of people time for reflection and evaluate what works and what doesn’t. 

One of the things that doesn’t work in the live events industry is the stronghold that big businesses have on the freedom of what people can and can’t do with the tickets they buy. No refunds allowed. No resale allowed. No transfers allowed. All hidden behind terms and conditions, which no one really notices until something goes wrong and they can’t go to an event! 

If the industry can learn anything from this pandemic is that there is a place for a responsible free ticket resale market and it is needed more than ever.