Events News Roundup April 2021

BRIT Awards to Go Ahead With Live Audience as Part of Covid Event Trials

The ceremony will contribute to part of the governments ‘Events Research Program’ looking into how live events could return after the pandemic. Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, the BRIT Awards will take place on the 11^th May at London’s O2 Arena with an audience of 4000. The attendees will need to prove a negative Covid test but once into the venue won’t be required to wear a face mask or socially distance. 2500 of the 4000 tickets will be given free to key workers from London to thank them for their service over the pandemic, while the others will go to nominated artists, their managers and teams. The attendees will also be asked to take a test after the ceremony to provide further research into the safety of relaxed indoor events.

Winners at next months awards will receive two different trophies and encouraged to share one with someone they consider worthy. The idea was designed to embrace the community spirit and kindness seen over the past year during Covid-19 lockdowns.

CloserStill Media Delivers Largest Online Veterinary Event This Year: Vet Show @ Home

After the first edition of their online conference in October 2020, CloserStill broke previous records with their second Vet Show @ Home. The event took place March 25-27^th and saw nearly 10,000 veterinary industry professionals attending sessions of interactive Q&A chats with animal health experts and AI-powered networking from the comfort of their home. This was a 33% increase from their first edition, making it the biggest online veterinary event this year. They hope to top this again with the third edition of Vet Show @ Home that will take place June 21-23^rd.

UK’s First Post-Lockdown Conference Hosted by ACC Liverpool

The Good Business Festival’s launch event, Change Business for Good, took place on 28^th April as part of the governments Events Research Program. The event was the first in-person live business conference to take place without Covid measures, since national lockdown began in March 2020. The conference held around 400 attendees who were required to take a lateral flow test prior to attending and encouraged to take a free at-home PCR test five days afterwards.

Boomtown Festival Cancelled

Organisers of the 66,000 capacity music, arts and theatre festival, Boomtown, have made a statement announcing the cancellation and rescheduling of the event to 10-14^th August 2022. Organisers said that the lack of a government backed insurance scheme left them without a safety net against a late cancellation out of their control. After also being cancelled in 2020 due to Covid, tickets for the five-day festival will either be refunded or transferred until next year for the second time.