[Source: IAEH] During the 2020 IAEH AGM, held virtually on 8th July, members discussed how the 'new normal' is going to look like for major event hosts.

The discussions happened in 5 breakout rooms moderated by IAEH directors. The conversations were around how members expect the processes of bidding for and hosting major events to change after the pandemic. The IAEH offered members the opportunity to speak and share insights aiming to understand how the Association can help members address the challenges imposed by COVID-19 in the short-term future.

The key points below summarise the discussions.

→ Focus on domestic events

Members see a change in focus towards building the industry with local, domestic/national before moving to regional/international events. In addition to that, members also see value in promoting hybrid events in the short-term future to be able to engage international audiences.

→ Sharing financial risk

Members expect a movement towards a more equal approach to sharing the financial risk between rights holders and host destinations. There is also a need to review the current contracts which may reflect in the way these contracts will be made in the future.

→ Bespoke approach

It is necessary to take a bespoke approach to events and conduct case-by-case analysis in order to find the right applicable solution to COVID-19 imposed challenges for each specific event.

→ Protect what you have

When it comes to bidding and hosting, members are focused on events they have already committed to host and on delivering those events in the best way possible considering the current restrictions – “It’s all about protecting what you have”.

→ Percentage budget cut

The percentage cut in members budget for the following 12 months varies between 0 and 65%. Some members reported that there may be an increase in budget to help comply with new COVID-19 imposed regulations and stimulate economic recovery.

→ Milestone payments

Members see milestone payment systems as a potential solution to dealing with bidding and hosting fees moving forward.

→ Information sharing is key

Members are highly interested in training, information sharing and interaction with other IAEH members, especially on ‘new normal functioning’ e.g. best practice on health protocols for events and digital event impact measurement.

 → Shift in priorities

Residents’ sentiments and community value are rising up in members’ priorities when bidding for and hosting an event.

[Source: IAEH] Aiming to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to event hosts, the IAEH surveyed its 41 member organisations across 22 countries from Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Americas

Survey feedback showed;

• • Significant impact of cancellations and postponement across the world
• • 80% of members don’t yet have a date for when they expect ‘stadium’ events with an audience to re-commence
• • Only 3 countries, and none in Europe and the Americas, already have guidance in place for staging spectator events in future
• • The first events to return are expected to be;
  • – Professional sports/arts events behind closed doors
  • – Small local events with limited attendance
  • – Festivals and events which integrate an online presence
• • Event hosts are actively supporting the event sector, through funding, multi-stakeholder collaboration and digital innovation

Continuing this discussion on the impacts of COVID-19, the IAEH will be hosting a free virtual ’round table’ webinar on response strategies. IAEH members from Canada, United States, Scotland, Japan and New Zealand will be discussing  the current status and mid to long term solutions to mitigate the damage while supporting the recovery of the industry in the months and years ahead. (Register and join on 10th June at noon (BST)).

The events industry has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sporting, cultural and business events have been banned around the world to avoid further spreading of the coronavirus. IAEH members, who are not-for-profit organisations that represent cities, regions and countries that host major events, have been dealing with many postponements and cancellations, and working to mitigate the damages to the whole industry.

THE IMPACT

Postponements and cancellations
The damage caused by event postponements and cancellations varies according to the location and size of the host organisation but all have been affected. Members reported that events scheduled to take place even after this summer (Northern Hemisphere) and, in some cases, all the way until early 2021 have been postponed or cancelled.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

Participants were asked to list the biggest challenges imposed by the COVID-19 crisis and some positive lessons learned from these difficult times.

The three biggest challenges created by COVID-19 as reported by IAEH members are:

1. 1. The economic impacts of event postponements and cancellations, including job losses and expected future cost increases due to social distancing requirements.
2. 2. The uncertainty about the short and long-term future, including current and future travel restrictions, making planning very difficult.
3. 3. The shift in priorities of both individuals and organisations during the current crisis and in the post-pandemic world.

Lessons are certainly being learned through dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. When asked about anything positive they could take from this experience, members highlighted the following:

1. 1. New ways of working and communicating that can have a positive impact not only reducing organisations’ expenses but also to the environment (e.g. positive climate effects with less travel).
2. 2. Creative and innovative solutions that have been used to address the problems caused by the pandemic but that can be carried forward and applied to the industry post-pandemic. This includes a wider use of technology and the digitisation of events.
3. 3. New and strengthened collaboration between local/national stakeholders, the results of which include revision of contracts, particularly force majeure clauses and insurance policy improvements.

THE RECOVERY

WHEN ARE EVENTS RESUMING?

This survey’s results also show the uncertainty of the situation which makes planning for the future a big challenge. The large majority (80%) of members who participated in the survey reported that there is no planning date for ‘stadium’ events with an audience to re-commence.

Different kinds of events may resume at different times. Members reported that the first events to return are likely to be:

1. 1. Small outdoor events where physical distancing rules can be respected.
2. 2. Professional sports or performing arts without an audience. Domestic competitions of individual sports such as golf, tennis and BMX could also be allowed soon.
3. 3. Cultural, business and even sport events that are able to go online. Event digitalisation is a new trend and proving to be a valuable solution at least until social distancing rules are fully eased.

NEW SAFETY MEASURES AND PROTOCOLS

When events and larger gatherings are to be allowed again, new guidance on safety measures and protocols, such as hygiene standards and health checking, will need to be implemented. Survey participants highlighted the work of their governments in defining the new norms and reported that these had not yet been published at that time. Only 3 countries, and none in Europe or the Americas, have measures already in place, but those are being continuously updated to reflect the current situation in the specific location.

NEW WAYS OF SUPPORTING THE INDUSTRY

IAEH members indicated that they have established new ways of supporting the event industry in response to COVID-19. This included:

1. 1. Funding to support event organisers or organisations servicing the events industry.
2. 2. Initiatives to support events to go digital place including local/national media campaigns to generate engagement and alternative sources of revenue from virtual events.
3. 3. Cooperation between stakeholders to access local/national support initiatives seems critical. Members reported that new associations and platforms are being created to address the crisis and guarantee that the response is well coordinated.

IAEH members also reported a shift in event support objectives from focusing on events that drive visitation to focusing on events that primarily drive community benefits and showcasing opportunities

For this survey’s technical information and questions/comments please email admin@eventhosts.org.
The full results of the 2020 IAEH Members’ Survey is available for members only at www.eventhosts.org/resources/.

[Source: IOC / Tokyo 2020)The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, held a conference call this morning to discuss the constantly changing environment with regard to COVID-19 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

They were joined by Mori Yoshiro, the President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee; the Olympic Minister, Hashimoto Seiko; the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko; the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission, John Coates; IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper; and the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi.

President Bach and Prime Minister Abe expressed their shared concern about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and what it is doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.

The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. doing to people’s lives and the significant impact it is having on global athletes’ preparations for the Games.

In a very friendly and constructive meeting, the two leaders praised the work of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and noted the great progress being made in Japan to fight against COVID-19.

The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.

The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Following the International Olympic Committee’s announcement over the weekend that it is scenario planning for postponing the Games, the IOC’s former head of marketing said that the mostly likely outcome is to move by a year to summer 2021, while IOC member Sir Craig Reedie warns that this could take up to four weeks to confirm.

The comments were made on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“Everyone clearly wants clarity as soon as possible. The IOC would like to announce a definitive new date as soon as they can. But they can’t do that until they’ve worked through some of the mind-boggling complexity with the Japanese,” said Michael Payne, who as IOC head of marketing launched the TOP sponsor programme that transformed the fortunes of the Games.

“I think until recently the Japanese were desperately hoping the Games would still be taking place this July. Only now are the Japanese seriously looking at plan B. The main issue is looking at all the logistics within Japan, of the venues, as to how can they effectively mothball them for whatever period of time necessary.

“And the international sporting calendar – I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that a short delay wouldn’t solve the problem. You have to look at a one-year delay, and I think that will come sooner rather than later.”

“The IOC President Thomas Bach and the Japanese Prime Minister have said cancellation is off the table. Japan has invested billions of dollars and they obviously still want to proceed, albeit with a different date.

“For the IOC they want to do everything possible to avoid disenfranchising the 10,000 athletes. Postponement is clearly where this is now going, and most likely for one year.”

Sir Craig Reedie has served as vice president of the IOC and Executive Board member. Asked what advice he would give to Japanese President Abe and IOC president Bach now, he said: “I’d be saying to them, is it possible that the contractual situation that you will have with a whole range of suppliers – it’s venues, particularly it's accommodation, it’s with various people – can these contracts be amended to a postpone the Games to a later date? I suspect that’s why a suggested period of four weeks is required, to see if that is possible.”

“Thereafter the issue seems to be clearly twofold. Firstly, will Japan be sufficiently clear of the virus? And secondly will the rest of the world have moved on to such a stage that athletes will no longer be afraid of travelling and taking part?

“The whole region has been massively infected by the spread of the virus. Everybody is saying athletes cannot prepare properly, there is danger in asking them to do so.

“So the balance of probability is that Japan have to be asked if they can change their logistical arrangements, particularly I think in the area of accommodation.

“And if that can be done then the IOC, I think, will look at postponing the Games.”

National Olympic Committees are beginning to prepare their teams for a 2021 event, with Canada having already pulled out of 2020.

There is still work to do in the most challenging of times, but Expo 2020 Dubai is on schedule to open in October thanks to measures taken by the host nation.

“Putting on a World Expo, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a global effort from the 192 countries taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai,” BIE Secretary General Dimitri Kerkentzes was reported as saying in Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram on 19 March.

“We continue working with the organisers and are confident in the steps that the UAE has taken to manage the spread of the virus and protect all those involved in the Expo. Expo 2020 Dubai’s pragmatic approach offers both reassurance and assistance to those who need it, and will, I believe, contribute to the successful delivery of this mega event.”

A steering committee of representatives of countries taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai met virtually on 19 March to discuss the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on preparations.

“As hosts of the next World Expo, due to open in seven months’ time, we always knew that 2020 was going to be demanding. What we could not predict is that we would be doing so in the midst of the biggest global health crisis in generations,” UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai Reem Al Hashimy is reported as saying in al-Ahram.

“These are difficult, uncertain times, which makes it even more heartening to see communities around the world facing this challenge together and to witness the incredible resilience of the human spirit against a menace that does not recognise international borders or timelines.

“Our immediate priority is the health and well-being of everyone involved in Expo 2020 Dubai, and this will not be compromised. Our monitoring of ongoing developments means we will take all sensible precautions to manage and mitigate risk to all those involved.”

The UAE has taken a range of measures to control the spread of COVID-19. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces told government news agency Wam: “In the UAE, we have adopted rational and early advanced precautionary measures before other countries around us to stand up to the challenge… Therefore, the infection tally in the UAE is less thanks to our early response to contain the virus at its onset”

Construction by the organising committee is complete, with International Participant Pavilions being completed.

The value of World Expos cannot be understated. “For almost 170 years they have brought countries and people together to celebrate the best of humanity, and the fruits of our innovation and collaboration, around a theme addressing global challenges,” said Kerkentzes.

The organisers of Glastonbury 2020 have announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the festival.

“This will be an enforced fallow year for the Festival,” Michael and Emily Eavis said in a statement published on their website and shared on social media.

“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.

“We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June. But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.”

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021.

The organisers added: “The cancellation of this year’s Festival will no doubt come as a terrible blow to our incredible crew and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen. There will also inevitably be severe financial implications as a result of this cancellation – not just for us, but also the Festival’s charity partners, suppliers, traders, local landowners and our community.

“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked. Again, we’re so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you.”

[Source: SportAccord] On 28 February, the Swiss Federal Government imposed a ban on large-scale events involving more than 1000 people. The ban came into immediate effect and was set to apply until at least 15 March 2020. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as an official Pandemic. On 14 March at 14:30 CET in a press conference, the Canton of Vaud under emergency measures imposed a ban on events involving more than 50 people until 30 April 2020. SportAccord, which brings together nearly 2,000 delegates, has taken the necessary step of cancelling SportAccord 2020 to give International Sport Federations, stakeholders, partners and attendees as much time as possible to make arrangements in light of the cancellation.

“Our priority is the health and welfare of our International Federations and delegates attending our event, so this decision has been taken with the utmost consideration for those who were planning to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne.” SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli said.

“This is obviously an extremely unfortunate situation and we are saddened that our community will not be able to attend our annual gathering, but we wanted to announce this decision at the earliest opportunity to enable plans to be adapted accordingly for all concerned.”

SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt said: “Following the COVID-19 outbreak, SportAccord has made every effort to find a viable solution for the staging of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2020.“

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but in taking the decision to cancel the event at this stage, we have endeavoured to minimise the potential disruption to our delegates’ plans. SportAccord is very grateful for the support of the City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, International Olympic Committee, partners, exhibitors, and delegates in recent weeks. We are now focusing on the delivery of what promises to be a superb SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg and we look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Russia from 23-28 May 2021.”

Partners, exhibitors and delegates who had registered to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne will be contacted shortly with further information.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up to date via LinkedIn and Facebook. For enquiries, email info@sportaccord.sport.

[Source: UFI] Paris based UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and Atlanta based SISO, The Society of Independent Show Organizers, today launch a new campaign, called “This Show Is Open”

– “This Show is open” / “This Expo is open” campaign made available to exhibition organisers around the world

– Campaign highlights the critical role exhibitions and events play in times of crisis

– Both associations pledge to make campaign available to meeting industry associations serving other types of events

It supports exhibition and event organisers around the world as they put the industry’s full experience to the task of keeping events going wherever possible, in line with the guidance of health authorities and the interests of their customers.

The campaign launches as the global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus is challenging societies around the world. As health systems and governments deal with the outbreak, exhibitions and events around the world are being postponed or cancelled where deemed necessary.

At the same time, exhibitions and events are one of the core elements to both keep industries and economies going – they are both among the most responsive and resilient economical tools.

“Exhibitions and events are essential to millions of businesses around the world. They exist to provide platforms for people and industries to meet, to trade, and to collaborate. Small and medium businesses in all industries in particular depend on exhibitions. And, like all types of events, they support the economy worldwide“, says Mary Larkin, UFI President.

“Exhibitions and events are especially important in times of disruption. We stand to fulfil our obligation to maintain opportunities for people to meet wherever possible. As part of the exhibitions industry, we are committed to keep our exhibitions and events going around the world wherever we can do so“, says Greg Topalian, SISO Chair.

The “This Show is Open” campaign consists of material that UFI and SISO are making available to their respective memberships – covering all the global leading companies in exhibition management as well as regional and national heavyweights. They can add the visuals and text material to their ongoing communications around upcoming exhibitions – highlighting the fact that, while numerous exhibitions around the world are being postponed or cancelled due to COVID19, many shows are taking place successfully around the world.

“We have one simple message here”, say Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO and David Audrain, SISO ED. “As an industry, we strive to make it possible for every company to come to the show floor, to seek to meet with industry peers, to drive the exchange about how and to what degree their respective industries are impacted by COVID-19, and to secure the successful future for their business.“

Industry leaders are welcoming the campaign:

“I have been a strong supporter of this campaign ever since I heard of it. At Tarsus Group, we will use the material provided to help get the word out loud and clear that our industry is open and resilient”, says Douglas Emslie, CEO of London based global organizer Tarsus Group.

Both UFI and SISO are as well inviting other associations serving the wider meetings industry to join the campaign, to help to grow awareness.

“As the current president of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, I will invite all the member associations of this global framework to join this campaign. We will also be happy to offer other networks like the ‘Events Industry Council’ to share the campaign – this issue is one that calls for the whole meetings industry to come together and collaborate”, says Kai Hattendorf.

The campaign materials are available for download here: www.supportingevents.org

[Source: IOC] The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board heard a report on all the measures taken so far to address the coronavirus situation, which was followed by a comprehensive discussion.

A joint task force had already been created in mid-February, involving the IOC, Tokyo 2020, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organization (WHO). The IOC Executive Board appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo’s plans to host safe and secure Games.

The IOC will continue to follow the advice of WHO, as the leading United Nations agency on this topic. The IOC Executive Board expressed its thanks to WHO for its continued valuable advice and cooperation.

It also praised the great unity and solidarity of the athletes, National Olympic Committees, International Federations and governments. It welcomed their close collaboration and flexibility with regard to the preparations for the Games, and particularly the qualification events. All stakeholders continue to work closely together to address the challenges of the coronavirus.

The IOC Executive Board encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The IOC will keep supporting the athletes by providing the latest information and developments, which are accessible for athletes worldwide on the Athlete365 website.

Host City: Bhubaneswar is hosting FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in November – how much work is there still to do to prepare for this?

Tusharkanti Behera: We are very committed in our efforts to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the best way possible, like when hosting previous international tournaments. We are looking to finish building and upgrading all the infrastructure by the first quarter of this year itself, as per the FIFA guidelines for the World Cup.

We are confident that the event will make a positive impact and help create a football ecosystem for the youth of the state and inspire more women to take up the sport.

Host City: Further down the line, Odisha is hosting the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023. Why do you think Odisha was selected to host this major event? 

Tusharkanti Behera: Odisha has been doing rather well for quite some time in sports, especially hockey, and we will be hosting the Hockey World Cup for the second consecutive time. The fact that the Hockey World Cup 2018 was heralded by the FIH President as the best Hockey World Cup in history says a lot about the efforts made by the state and everyone involved in the delivery of the tournament. Moreover, we have built the state-of-the-art Kalinga hockey stadium, which is one of the best in the world.

The state now has a reputation for delivering successfully big tournaments like Asian Athletics Championship, the Men’s Hockey World League Finals 2017, Indian Super League 2017-2018, Hero Super Cup 2018/2019, National Open Athletics Championships 2018, Asia Rugby Girls U-18 Rugby 7s Championships 2018, Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018, Indian Super league , AIFF 4-nations Women’s Hero Gold Cup 2019, and the recent FIH Series Finals and Pro League. Thanks to its efforts in hosting the majority of international tournaments, the Indian state of Odisha is now being termed the sports capital of India.

Host City: What part do these events play in Odisha’s hosting strategy? Will this help Odisha bid for even bigger events in the future, and what kind of events are you looking to host?

Tusharkanti Behera: These events are testimony to the efficient delivery of international tournaments by the Odisha government and now the world knows of our capabilities.

We are more than willing to organise international events as and when we are offered something. Indian Olympics Association (IOA) President Mr. Narinder Batra has already said that whenever India gets to host an Olympic, Asian or Commonwealth Games, Odisha will definitely be a part of it.

Host City: What other positive impacts will these events bring to the state of Odisha?

Tusharkanti Behera: Hosting big events in the state, apart from developing a sporting ecosystem, also helps create brand equity for the state and boost tourism. The Hockey World Cup 2018 led to an estimated 60 per cent higher tourist footfall in Odisha during November and December 2018.

By leveraging on Bhubaneshwar's appeal as a sports destination, we hope to bolster tourist footfall and earnings by focusing on sports tourism.