• Home
  • LATEST POSTS
  • PODCAST
  • Support ASE
Type and hit ENTER

Be Yourself. Be Happy.

Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.

Stay Positive. Always.

Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.

Image Not Found On Media Library
  • Home
  • LATEST POSTS
  • PODCAST
  • Support ASE
GET CONNECTED
Image Not Found On Media Library
  • HOME
    • About
    • Contributors
    • Archive
  • COMMENTARY
  • EVENT REPORTS
  • PODCAST
  • SUPPORT or SPONSOR
  • Submit Job Listing
  • Industry Jobs

Remembering Black Friday – 13th March 2020

March 13, 2021
-
Posted by Trevor Connell

I bet most people in our industry can remember exactly where we were on Friday 13th March when the PM announced that our industry was about to be shut down. And most business owners and event producers spent the next week taking cancellations and trying to work out how long this would last.

Of course on that weekend the rugby league matches went ahead as did the Hillsong conference (Scotty wasn’t about to shut either of those down).

JobKeeper was of course a godsend for most event management companies and suppliers.  However JobKeeper didn’t pay the rent, the loans, insurance and all the other ongoing business expenses.  It also didn’t cover the many thousands of casuals who work across our industry as loaders, riggers, technicians, kitchen and wait staff, FOH staff, drivers, expo installers, stage managers, cleaners, security, etc, etc.

Yes there are some success stories that the pollies like to focus on, but for the most part our industry has been hammered just as hard as the tourism and hospitality sectors. And although tourism is getting some assistance with half price airfares the reality is that the event and entertainment industries have received next to nothing – the Business Events Grants Scheme is very limited in scope and helps only a small portion of the business events sector.

So where are we now?

Local events are coming back. Two weeks ago I worked on the Small Business Champion Awards which saw the biggest gathering at ICC Sydney (900 people) since that Hillsong conference. It was a pleasing experience to see so many industry professionals at work.

Although the SBC Awards is a national event not many finalists took a chance on travelling from outside NSW.  And that highlights the biggest issue holding back national events – state premiers (two in particular) who are happy to lock out interstate visitors at the drop of a hat.  And why, because they both have elections this year, and they are playing to their home base by demonising southerners or easterners as unfit to visit.  So much for Federation and the National Cabinet!

Campaigns were launched in Victoria and NSW to save the events industry and in each state they conducted surveys asking business owners for their thoughts on the rest of the year. The results make for sobering reading.

The Save Victorian Events survey showed that if JobKeeper is not extended 40% of Victorian event industry companies will likely need to close and a further 43% will need to shed their staff.
In addition, 69% of the highly skilled freelancers and contractors that the event industry relies so heavily on will need to leave the industry.
95% of Victorian event industry businesses are currently relying on JobKeeper to be able to keep their staff and to survive.

When Save NSW Events ran the same survey they got almost identical results.  With 42% of companies likely to needing to close and 45% needing to let their staff go.  And 75% of freelancers and contractors needing to leave the event industry.

Read the full story here

And business owners are ropable at the lack of support. Gary Fitz-Roy of Expertise Events said, “It’s a real kick in the guts. The exhibition and event industry represents a major commercial sector that can contribute to rebuilding consumer and business confidence and the vast majority of our sector are family, privately-owned businesses who have sacrificed everything to come through, unlike huge corporate airlines and hotels in the tourism sector, and now we are at the tipping point.”

Read that story here.

BECA has issued a response to the announcement from the Federal Government yesterday in relation to the changes to the Business Events Grant Program as part of the National Economic Recovery Plan.

Tiny Good is a well-known member of our community and owner of Showtech Australia. His situation is typical of many industry suppliers. Here are his thoughts from a business and personal level.

We are doing OK, but April is not looking great and, as you know, many will not survive. The tragic thing is that some may not survive personally, not just their businesses. 

We have had some work. We have been supporting others, mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally. It is not easy. We have done surveys, written emails and letters, met with people in person and on line, and done whatever we can to keep ourselves and everyone else alive. 

PIVOT, RESIZE, REPURPOSE. Words that’s sound good in a sound bite but obviously are not understood by the person saying it! Last year at this time we had 14 full time / part time and 50+ casuals. Now we have 3 full time, 1 part time, and 4 casuals (they get less than 12 hours a week). 

Australia is expecting Guns and Roses, KISS, and many big acts in late 2021 and going forward. Crews of 100+ loaders, 30+ riggers, 60+ trailers, security, catering, hotels, ground transport, generators, fencing, toilets,  and guest services (punter things). How many will be there to answer the calls. 

Whatever we do we need to put a hand up and say “we are here and we matter”, not just put our hand out. We need to give hope to ourselves without dismissing the situation. It is a delicate balance for people better than I.

In closing I must acknowledge the huge contribution Michael Gudinski made to the festivals side of our industry. I met MG once but I attended many festivals and concerts that he was responsible for.  I was particularly touched by the guard of honour afforded him by the roadies (Up the Back in Black) at his funeral.  These guys and girls have had no gigs for 12 months and for most of them no JobKeeper either.  But they turned up to pay respect to someone who not only provided them with work over the decades but also respected the work they did.

Vale MG

This is the first of our new look weekly wraps – I appreciate your feedback and your comments.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

March 13, 2021
Email
2 Comments
Trevor Connell
Trevor came to the events industry in the early eighties from a background in theatre and photography. He has experience as an Event Manager, Technical Director and Lighting Designer and has worked on events as diverse as corporate functions and the Sydney Royal Easter Show and the Sydney Olympics Closing Night Harbour Spectacular.

Trevor was a founding member of the Australian chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and served on the chapter executive for six years.

2 Comments

on Remembering Black Friday – 13th March 2020.
  1. Mike Flynn
    March 13, 2021 @ 3:20 pm
    -
    Reply

    Great article, and can say it’s positive to see conferences slowly popping up. I can say with a smile we just had a virtual conference solution cancelled, because it’s now going ahead Live! It’s great to see things heading in the right direction!!!

  2. Dean
    March 13, 2021 @ 3:10 pm
    -
    Reply

    Well written – great job. This next period is daunting and requires everyone to support each other as best they can. The border closure issue is still probably the biggest for planning and investing.

Comment on this article Cancel reply

Join the conversation

Receive notifications when we publish

Invalid email address
No spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
RECENT POSTS
  • Gympie Muster provides invaluable work experience
    August 10, 2022

    The Gympie Music Muster enhances its community engagement again this year, giving opportunities …

    Share this:

    • Twitter
    • Facebook

    Like this:

    Like Loading...
  • Event Report: ReSpark for Perth events
    August 8, 2022

    Fast factsWhat: Perth 5 Star Event Industry ReSparkWhere: Frasers State Reception Centre, Kings …

    Share this:

    • Twitter
    • Facebook

    Like this:

    Like Loading...
  • The wrap – 5th August
    August 5, 2022

    Is there light at the end of the COVID tunnel? Positive news reports …

    Share this:

    • Twitter
    • Facebook

    Like this:

    Like Loading...
  • Should suppliers be colluding on price?
    August 5, 2022

    Readers are very aware I have been concerned about what I consider to …

    Share this:

    • Twitter
    • Facebook

    Like this:

    Like Loading...
  • Laservision’s ‘Aurora’ light show a tourism hit in Albury
    August 1, 2022

    After an extremely popular showing, the inaugural Luna Light Journey, AURORA, wrapped up …

    Share this:

    • Twitter
    • Facebook

    Like this:

    Like Loading...
Recent Comments
  • Anthony on Should suppliers be colluding on price?
  • Gary Fitz-Roy on The ramifications of “COVID cancellations”
  • Louise Mahler on The ramifications of “COVID cancellations”
  • Julius Grafton on The ramifications of “COVID cancellations”
  • exclusiveuse on The Great Industry Reset
POPULAR TAGS
COVID-19
sydney lockdown
savevicevents
BECA
MCEC
PJSE
MEA
melbourne lockdown
EEAA
MCB
ICC Sydney
AIME
arinex
AACB
Sydney Showground
Navarra Venues
Australian Event Awards
Business Events
Get Local
AIME2022
JobKeeper
BEIA
Exhibitions
Business Events Grants Scheme
Melbourne
VTIC
NEA
BESydney
Tokyo 2020ne
Expertise Events
Evolve2022
BCEC
AIME 2022
Regional Events
Podcast
ISES
savevictorianevents
Victoria
Sydney Olympics
Australian Open
Theatre
Peter King
Save Vic Events
Save NSW Events
COVID
GET CONNECTED
  • HOME
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Contributors
Copyright Australasian Special Events 2000 - 2021
Remembering Black Friday – 13th March 2020 | Australasian Special Events
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: