“After several months of lobbying, and providing significant amounts of evidence and research to government, and working closely in partnership with our colleagues at DCMS, we are delighted that today the Prime Minister has finally announced a Go Date of October 1st for the recommencement of business events and exhibitions, subject to the successful completion of some pilot events.

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) the umbrella body and advocacy group for the UK’s £70 billion events industry, is now calling on the Government to save the industry from complete collapse by providing further targeted and long-term support for the sector.

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) has welcomed a number of new partners to the organisation including Unique Venues of London (UVL), International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB) and Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA).

At the most recent Senior Events Industry Leaders Panel held with the Minister of Tourism, Nigel Huddleston MP, industry leaders voiced their concerns, about the critical importance of a date for reopening to be given, if further damage to an already fragile Industry was to be avoided. Industry leaders said a go date was essential as for many events, at least eight to twelve weeks, was necessary for planning purposes.

This Thursday 25th June 2020, a petition calling for the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed by the UK events industry will finally be debated in the House of Commons. The BVEP encouraged all our partners to sign the petition and in the end 153,152 people from across the industry did so. So far, so good.