It has been another hell of a week with COVID cases spiralling in NSW and Victoria and a big push from industry groups calling on the state governments to actually come up with a plan for how events will restart.
And because it is the “official” first day of spring (3 weeks before the rest of the world) I thought I would share a photo from Canberra’s Floriade, which has been cancelled again.
The PM and Premiers are promising things will be very different when we reach 70% and 80% fully vaccinated. But how will we get there?
Business events united in call for NSW Government plan to safely restart operations
After 10 weeks in lockdown, and with another four to go, Sydney is holding on to event bookings from October through to the end of the year. If we don’t give businesses certainty now that events can proceed, they will find it increasingly difficult to retain their workforce and event organisers will be forced to again postpone or cancel events or take them elsewhere.
Victorian Chamber calls for a clear plan to exit lockdown
Today’s announcement was never going to be easy with the number of active cases in the state. Victorians all have a role to play, but every business needs hope. Today we got a plan to have a plan when what we needed was certainty, clarity, ambition, hope and a clear roadmap. We got confirmation that most Victorian businesses will remain unable to trade for the foreseeable future.
Rapid antigen testing system for events
Visions in Style owner, Michael Cartwright has developed a rapid antigen testing system for events and business.
So, after 18 months it has all come down to this
Peter Jones – We can all remember waiting for each of the COVID restrictions to end and then we knew it was a four to five week lag before we got back to the manageable 1 per 2 square metre rule which allowed many events to happen.
Reminding people why events really deliver
Gary Fitz-Roy: The industry have been so focused on various aspects of recovery, namely insurance and a road map to re-open. However, it’s important that we also maintain effort on a third pillar – reminding clients why events and exhibitions really deliver.
NZ BEIA conference moved to 1 November
BEIA Chief Executive, Lisa Hopkins says now more than ever, meeting face-to-face is important for the industry after a period of lockdown.
ASE 2020 Podcast ep 14: Di Henry – Games Girl
This week’s repeat podcast is with Di Henry who has a great story to tell about how she got to run the Sydney Olympics Torch Relay.
Lateral team united by vaccinations
The team at Sydney based Event Management Company, Lateral Events, have united over a common cause – to get vaccinated and to do their bit to get the events industry back on track.
Other event news
It’s great to hear from people in the industry with an interesting story to tell.
I’ve known Suzanne Hart for many years and she has shared her story with micenet:
Suzanne Hart: An eventful life in Bali until the pandemic hit
I am fortunate to have worked in many different areas of the industry: beginning in hospitality in Perth, moving to Melbourne to help manage corporate conferences, on to one of Australia’s largest PCOs, and then to travel and incentive management. If I’d mapped out my career on a whiteboard 27 years ago, it would have gone exactly like this.
MCEC partners with OzHarvest
MCEC is aligning with OzHarvest to increase sustainability in the food waste sector and help them advocate, inspire and influence others to halve food waste by 2030.
MCEC will be donating resources and service provision, ongoing food donations, workplace giving, fundraising and advocacy programs as well as contributing commercial kitchen space to OzHarvest, to trial their ‘Çooking for a Cause’ program for three days a week.
Chief Executive MCEC Peter King said it is the ideal partnership for the organisation.
“Globally, one third of all edible food produced is thrown in the bin, and with one in every nine Australian’s unsure where their next meal is coming from, OzHarvest and their goals are relevant to all of us as a community.”
MCEC supports our industry’s best shot at recovery
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is supporting Business Events Council of Australia’s ‘Give Business Events a Shot’ campaign and Tourism Australia’s ‘It’s our best shot for events’ initiative.
Since March, MCEC has been home to one of Melbourne’s largest vaccination hubs, with over 156,000 Victorians being vaccinated at our iconic venue.
Peter King, Chief Executive of MCEC said, “by hosting one of Victoria’s flagship vaccination centres, we’re proud to be leading the way in vaccinating our population. Our Executive Team realises the role we each need to play in getting Melbourne back on its feet and I am proud to share we are all fully vaccinated.”
“We need to be vaccinated so we can safely move around our regions, interstate and eventually overseas assisting in a faster recovery of our business events industry.
HOTA introduces ArtKeeper to create jobs for artists– Limelight
HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast, has introduced a new program called ArtKeeper in a commitment to keep artists employed as the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the arts.
Sydney could be subjected to Australia’s longest lockdown despite surging vaccination rates– ABC
Sydney could surpass Melbourne and be subjected to Australia’s longest COVID-19 lockdown, despite surging vaccination rates, an ABC analysis has found.
No more lockdowns in NSW when 80pc jabbed– AFR
NSW residents won’t face lockdowns once 80 per cent of over-16s are fully vaccinated, with economists saying inoculations are the state’s “get-out-of-jail-free card”.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian ruled out lockdowns once NSW hits the higher vaccination target set by national cabinet.
NSW jab data says we can beat the Doherty predictions – AFR
NSW is in great shape to exit the lockdown within a couple of months and to enter a new era of freedom and optimism.
The reason for this is that vaccination is working much better than forecast in controlling COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations.
‘Production immediately paused’: Russell Crowe film shut down by COVID case – SMH
The movie that Russell Crowe has been directing and shooting around Sydney has been shut down by a positive COVID-19 case.
The Oscar winner announced the suspension of the thriller Poker Face six days before the end of filming. In a series of tweets Crowe said the cast and crew, who had been shooting the film under strict COVID-19 protocols for more than 11 weeks, were isolating.
Small business groups urge states to reach consensus over COVID-19 reopening plan
Small business groups say clashes between the state and federal governments over the national reopening plan is shortsighted and shows disregard for the role small businesses will play in rebuilding the economy.
No more lockdowns in NSW when 80pc jabbed– AFR
NSW residents won’t face lockdowns once 80 per cent of over-16s are fully vaccinated, with economists saying inoculations are the state’s “get-out-of-jail-free card”.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian ruled out lockdowns once NSW hits the higher vaccination target set by national cabinet.
NSW jab data says we can beat the Doherty predictions – AFR
NSW is in great shape to exit the lockdown within a couple of months and to enter a new era of freedom and optimism.
The reason for this is that vaccination is working much better than forecast in controlling COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations.
Overseas news
The run-down on “The Special Event”
In person events are happening in the USA and the biggest industry event of them all is TSE + Catersource held in Miami this July.
The Brew Crew podcast is made by event professionals who attended The Special Event.
This event may feel unique compared to other more recent ones, as it was all in-person with no virtual option. This episode also shares information on Catersource and the SEARCH Foundation and their potential impact on the industry moving forward.
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