FOREWORD
When sustainability took on a new meaning
P
utting a magazine ‘to bed’ is usually a time of great excitement for journalists, but in a 15-year career I cannot recall a single time when I’ve felt as lost for words.
Te intention for this issue was to reflect on
the sustainability of the events industry, providing space for all those involved in staging events to discuss how to make them greener. But the coronavirus, which has swept the
world in such a devastating way, threatens the very survival of the sector, with scores of events cancelling as its cruel tide crashes in. ‘Keep calm and carry on’, a phrase that feels as
British as having a cup of tea, is both soothing and yet somehow deeply unsatisfactory at the same time. To get through this unprecedented global
challenge – perhaps as threatening to humanity as the Spanish flu of 1918 – we need clear and decisive leadership, unity and a sense of real seriousness in the days, weeks and months ahead. Tat clarity, sadly, has been sorely lacking; the UK Government in the run-up to this issue has felt more distant than ever, and Boris Johnson has seemed slow to act. A friend of mine, no fan of Maggie Tatcher,
said the Iron Lady would have at least been up for the fight. She would have risen at 4:30am, had a meeting at 5am and addressed the nation before breakfast. Nicola Sturgeon may have got out on the front foot by banning mass gatherings of over 500, but the detail in the small print rendered her statement, at least at first, confusing and vague. Tis is all, of course, extremely fast-moving,
and one must retain a degree of sympathy for any leader and hope that they pull us all through. However, as far as the events industry is
concerned, pleas to keep the show on the road – in order to maintain a £43bn industry - are being very quickly overridden by a sudden lack of demand, forcing many to cancel or reschedule for later in the year. Viruses come and go, they ‘flatten out’, disappear altogether, even, and the cavalry in the form of new vaccines and medicines will eventually ride to the rescue. But if some of the healthcare experts and statisticians are to be proven right, there may be fewer of us to attend events. At this moment, it is an unnerving game of watch and wait and gives an entirely new meaning to the sustainability of events.
Kevin O’Sullivan, Editor EVENTSBASE | SPRING 2020 | 5
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