At
8pm on 30th September, Reed Hall at the Univeristy of Exeter, stood illuminated in red, in
solidarity with event industry peers across the globe.
Working
in collaboration with Exeter-based event production company, Warwick Event Services,
the building was lit up as part of the #WeMakeEvents Global Day of Action,
raising awareness and highlighting the need for support for the live events
industry, suffering in the wake of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Located
on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus, Reed Hall is an all year round
wedding and events venue – just one of a portfolio of venues, managed by the
Event Exeter team at the University. In any given year, the team manage well
over 1000 events, from small meetings to large residential conferences, as well
as hosting overnight visitors to the city, during the summer holiday months.
This generates vital income for the University, which is invested into
supporting student experience projects.
The
Covid-19 pandemic hit hard, just as the team were at the height of success,
celebrating a spate of industry awards. Scooping Gold at the Devon Tourism Awards for Business
Events Venue of the Year and Best Sales and Marketing team at the Conference
News Academic Venue Awards, no one could have imagined how the events industry
was about to be struck.
Steve
Whyte, Head of Event Operations at Event Exeter said,
“Our venues have been closed for events since March
and will remain so for the foreseeable future, until it is safe and right to
set the wheels back in motion. Each year conferences and events at the
University bring large amounts of visitors to the city and consequently are of
huge economic benefit to the region. A reduction in business tourism in Exeter
will undoubtedly have serious repercussions for local suppliers. The impact on
us, as a commercial arm of the University and indeed on the city of Exeter itself,
will be phenomenal and the industry needs the support to return to normal as
soon as is safe to do so."
The
Stand as One campaign aims to support more than a million people, who work
within the events industry in the UK - highly skilled individuals who have been
out of work since March and are likely to be so until spring next year. From
audio-visual companies, to motivational speakers, the list of those affected is
huge.
David
Warwick, Managing Director of Warwick Event Services said,
“The
Events and Exhibitions industry in both the Southwest and across the UK, lays
claim to a huge wealth of talent - creative and dedicated people, experts in
their field and incredibly passionate about what they do. It’s time for that
care to be reciprocated, for someone to take notice and ensure that opportunity
is still out there. As a region and a country, we are in danger of losing our
position as global leaders in the industry, renowned for producing world-class live
events”.
Whilst live events are
currently on hold for Event Exeter, the team are well prepared for a safe
return in 2021. If you have a project you would like to discuss, please get in
touch by email at eventexeter@exeter.ac.uk – we love to talk events