England's events industry is embracing new beginnings
By: Ann Ruppenstein
With over 82 million household streams, Bridgerton has been a steamy hit for Netflix, becoming its most-watched series to date. Even during a global pandemic, that success is already leading to a positive impact on future tourism and the events industry in England.
Kathryn Davis, Head of Tourism at Destination Bristol and Bath, says they’ve already been fielding requests for events and weddings at filming locations like No. 1 Royal Crescent and Holburne Museum, which is Lady Danbury’s mansion in the show.
“A couple of tour operators already have those routes up and running, and in the next few weeks you’ll definitely see some content based around ‘host your meeting in Bridgeton’ so that’s something we can have fun with, it’s a bit lighthearted,” Davis says. “We will be milking it for everything.”
VisitEngland has reasons to be optimistic about recovery
Kicking off a MeetEngland Virtual roundtable this month, Nick de Bois – Chair of VisitEngland, said there is good reason to be optimistic about the future of events in the destination, which has been resilient.
“People have been working extremely hard to make sure it’s ready to welcome back visitors as soon as it is safe to do so,” says de Bois. “As we anticipate what the future may offer visitors in terms of the business and events industry, inevitably we are looking at new beginnings. Easily tossed out there that word, but the dynamics and the rethinking and the creative response to COVID really does mean however we emerge from this, it will be with new beginnings.”
Some of the upcoming events slated for England are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and the G7 summit set for June 11-13 in Cornwall’s Carbis Bay.
“Forget politics, for me this is basically a huge statement that this country is moving to the point where we will be ready for events,” he said during a press briefing. “And what bigger event could you have than the G7 conference to use this as an opportunity to showcase that England is open and ready?”
Pre-COVID, he says over 95M visitors, delegates attended conferences and meetings annually in the UK, and the industry represented 700,000 job positions.
“The importance of this sector is vital to the UK and by extension to the worldwide economy,” he said. “It is a key driver for the economy, not just about a vibrant events sector throughout its own right but it is the gate keeper, the platform from which we can launch ourselves as global Britain into the post-COVID era.”
Setting a standard that England is safe and secure, the UK has introduced the “We’re Good To Go” mark to showcase how businesses follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and cleanliness and social distancing.
“We’re working toward the goal of returning as quickly and as safely as possible to a vibrant events sector leading the world as a destination of choice,” he says. “In England we offer of course the great opportunities of our cities but we have those coastal and rural locations as well which I think will feature more in people’s plans in the future.”
Read on for a look at how four leading destinations in England “showcase how we are embracing new beginnings and sharing some of the exciting news about the future chapters that are ahead for all of us.”
“As we anticipate what the future may offer visitors in terms of the business and events industry, inevitably we are looking at new beginnings. Easily tossed out there that word, but the dynamics and the rethinking and the creative response to COVID really does mean however we emerge from this, it will be with new beginnings.”
Nick de Bois
Chair of VisitEngland
Introducing Meet Bristol & Bath
Along with the Bridgerton hype, a new regional Convention Bureau has been launched representing Bristol, Bath and the surrounding area as Meet Bristol & Bath.
The Bureau’s key objectives are to proactively promote the region for business events.
“The launch of the new convention bureau, Meet Bristol & Bath is an exciting development for the business events industry in England,” said VisitEngland Head of Business Events, Kerrin MacPhie: “Both destinations offer a wealth of opportunity and leading business events facilities which combined will make an unforgettable visitor experience.”
There are also several new developments planned for the region, including the YTL Arena Bristol due to open in 2023. The venue will consist of three interlinked arenas including a multi-purpose, flexible hall with 11,000 sqm flat floor space for exhibitions, trade shows and conventions. Plus, a 17,080-seat arena, making it the third largest arena in the UK.
Davis points out that the two destinations are only 12 miles apart — or 12 minutes on the train — so it would be easy to combine a conference in Bristol with a social event in Bath.
“This is an opportunity for a one stop shop, to really explore venues and destinations that may not be on your radar previously. We have an incredible range of venues here at the moment. We have even more coming including big capacity venues which we haven’t had before so it’s time to revisit Bristol and Bath for your next event!”
In addition to tradition event space venues, Davis says it has some unique options for the industry such as “having dinner under the wings of the last Concorde jet, in the place where it was created, it’s really quite special.”
NewcastleGateshead Quays development moves ahead
Although there have been some COVID-related delays, Paul Szomoru, Director of Business Events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau shared that construction of the NewcastleGateshead Quays will be starting this year.
The international conference and exhibition centre capable of hosting up to 12,500 delegates is slated to open in Winter 2023/2024.
“It’s a £260 million investment, it’s a 15 hectare site on the banks of the River Tyne in the most spectacular location in between the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Norman Foster designed Sage Gateshead, overlooking the Quayside and the seven spectacular bridges there, so the location of this, I think is so special in the urban heart of NewcastleGateshead.”
The project includes a 12,500 capacity state-of-the-art arena venue, International Conference and Exhibition Centre, two new hotels adding to the existing 7,000 hotel beds in the destination and outdoor event space.”
Szomoru says the project is transformative for the region and it has been an ambition of the destination for 20 years.
“It is an asset for the region, but also a great new asset for the UK as a whole to be able to have something of this caliber being invested in,” he says.
Birmingham is ready to host 2022 Commonwealth Games
Set to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham is ready to be in the spotlight.
“This is a once in a generation opportunity for us to showcase the West Midlands and the UK to international investors, businesses, entrepreneurs, event organizers and visitors,” says Stephanie Mynett, Business Development Manager at West Midlands Growth Company (formerly Marketing Birmingham). “We really feel this is our time to shine.”
Although 95% of its competition venues were already in place, she points out that there is a lot of new and refurbished sporting arenas as well, including a new state of the art 50m pool at Sandwell Aquatics Centre and the Alexander Stadium Redevelopment, which will be a pivotal venue for the games.
Accessibility is also key, with 90% of the UK’s is reachable within a four hour drive. Mynett also says the youth and diversity of Birmingham helped make the bid to host the games successful.
“Birmingham represents global Britain in the 21 century. It’s young and diverse. It’s about the people of Birmingham, 40% of our population is under 25 so Birmingham is also known as the most ethnically culturally diverse major regional city in the UK. There’s so much to showcase and you can notably experience that through our food and our cuisine.”
The business tourism sector is already huge for the West Midlands, representing 25% of all domestic visits to the region pre-COVID.
“Business events is a gatekeeper and even though the Commonwealth Games is a sporting event, this is a fantastic platform for us to showcase our business tourism offer to a broad audience. We are very keen to engage with new markets overseas, especially the Commonwealth nations too.”
In terms of new openings, there are 80 hotel developments in the pipeline, for an extra 6,500 bedrooms with a number of the hotels opening in time for the games.
“We can’t wait to welcome the world to Birmingham and the West Midlands in 18 months time,” she says.
London is calling the events sector
Tracy Halliwell Non-Executive Director for London & Partners says despite the pandemic, a number of hotel developments are still in the pipeline.
It’s also been announced that the ExCeL London exhibition and international convention centre is extending its footprint by 25% with additional capacity and Olympia London is undergoing a transformation with new hotels, a live music venue and an open air public space.
“There’s just so much for us to look forward to,” she says.
One of the advantages of the lockdown has been that the development of many of these projects such as Olympia have been fast-tracked as they haven’t had to work around in house exhibitions.
The venues have also become more tech-enabled in the process of the last year.
“Across London, a huge amount of our venues now have got green screens, they’ve got enhanced broadband capacities. We’re hoping we will become one of the hybrid hubs in the world.”
Although the virtual space has become more advanced, she strongly believes that live events will come back as there’s a huge demand for in-person interactions and people love to travel.
