Support scheme fails to address threat faced by the sector

Exhibition and events sector trade bodies say Chancellor's job support scheme fails to address existential threat faced by the sector.

Commenting on today's statement by the Chancellor, we, along with our sister Associations; the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) & the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) believe that

“This is a desperate day for the industry. The Chancellor's proposal today fails to give the UK events sector the support it so desperately needs, given that the majority of the events industry is still not permitted to resume until March 2021 at the earliest. 

"A wage subsidy is of little use to any businesses that are unable to trade at all, in a sector that is facing an existential threat to its viability. Without targeted action the future looks bleak for 600,000 event professionals across the UK, and widespread business insolvencies and job losses are a certainty. 

"However, we remain undeterred, and we will continue engaging with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Government to relentlessly pursue the sector specific support needed for our industry.”