Olivier Vallee

👇👇👇 The last government sucked for the event industry. Here are ten ways the new one can actively help 👇👇👇 It’s hard to comprehend the damage that COVID and the cost of living crisis have wrought on the events and festival industry, with over 40 major festivals - including El Dorado, Bluedot, and NASS - all canceled in 2024, as well as over 170 in the last five years. The last Prime Minister described the £80bn UK events industry (larger than ride hailing or food delivery) as ‘unviable’, but I’m highly optimistic that the new Labour government will take one of the most culturally and economically important parts of the UK economy seriously - here are ten ways I feel they could do that. ➡️VAT reduction on event tickets: Reducing VAT to 5% on event tickets would boost attendance and increase revenue for organizers - I would argue events are necessary, not a luxury. ➡️Targeted Relief Packages: Cash flow is crucial to events. Increased grants and low-interest loans for the industry can help businesses recover. ➡️Fund International Marketing campaigns: Reintroduce funding international marketing campaigns to promote the UK as the world’s leading destination for festivals and events, aiding both the festival industry and the UK’s £33bn tourism industry. ➡️Faster and less complicated licences and permits: Digitalize the process to speed up obtaining licences and permits. ➡️Support for sustainable practices: Grants for events adopting sustainable practices to meet Gen-Z's preference for environmentally conscious events. ➡️Creation of a crisis response fund: Establish a fund for immediate financial assistance to events businesses during crises, similar to the Hospitality Recovery Fund. ➡️Continued support for freelance workers: Provide access to affordable healthcare, pensions, and other benefits to support the industry's freelancers. Improving travel infrastructure and reducing rail costs: Enhance travel infrastructure and reduce rail costs to increase event attendance. ➡️Support for Digital Transformation: Provide resources and training for event organizers to adopt digital tools and platforms. ➡️Just talk about the industry: The events industry needs to be recognized as an £80bn sector and discussed as such by the UK government. The UK event sector is an example of the UK being world-class and a huge globally recognised symbol of UK soft power - the last govt scored a huge own goal by ignoring it - the new one has an opportunity to help it thrive.

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