As the world entered lockdown and Covid-19 (COVID) took hold, events were cancelled, postponed and suspended, and event managers around the world were left exposed to a host of liability and costs. 

Despite a lifting of full restrictions being pushed back beyond June 21st in the UK, events are starting to begin again. We’re seeing crowds at sporting events, people sat enjoying pubs, and live music played once more. 

But as we begin a slow ascent back to normality, spare a thought for those responsible for those putting on an event, who simply cannot get access to as much financial protection as they would like.

No COVID Coverage

From the moment the pandemic hit, event cancellation insurers have taken communicable disease cover completely off the table, and understandably so. The industry has faced catastrophic losses on a global scale previously unheard of, with a largely open-ended timeframe to their risk exposure as society wrestles a pandemic. 

As the expected lifting of restrictions has been delayed and all sporting and entertainment events planned for this coming summer have to contend with continued uncertainty, there is next to no security for those carrying the financial risk. 

The sector continues lobbying effort for Government intervention (as with the TV & Film industry), but this remains a complex challenge to scope and agree specifics at the speed required. 

Across Europe, some countries have engaged their parliaments, with both Holland and Germany introducing schemes that nurture the events business in the event of further cancellation. Whilst this is a positive step forward in those countries, publically funded schemes are likely to struggle to provide the full depth of coverage required based on the pressures that variant strains of Covid-19 are presenting to event managers.

Wider Reluctance

The financial impact on insurer losses over the last 18-36 months (even before Covid) has seen premiums for event cancellation cover increase from anywhere between 25% and 100%, making it a bitter pill to swallow among all other mitigating costs now required. 

Add to this the fact that, with the most clear and present threat to an event cancellation being impossible to protect financially, and you end up with a reduced short-term demand for event cancellation insurance. 

This is despite event cancellation underwriters largely willing to return premiums should an event be cancelled due to COVID.

Whilst not the immediate concern for an event manager, the events that can find a way to operate will be presented with other risks that need confronting with less time available to plan and mitigate.

Other Risks Remain 

Of course, COVID has dominated our thoughts, concerns, and anxieties, but while many in the events industry – including the supply chain, in search for survival or sustainability – are shouldering the financial risk of further cancellation themselves, they need to remember that the pandemic isn’t the only critical issue they could run in to. 

Clearly their full focus has to be on monitoring an ever-changing set of health and safety requirements to safely get participants and spectators on-site without significantly influencing the R rate but with that said, as event managers navigate their way through to the start-line of their event, there are clearly a number of further risks they will have to prepare for under even greater time constraints.

The bounce-back effect the hospitality industry has planned for, generated by a feel-good factor in society to rekindle social interactions, can dial-up other threats. 

With supply chains and budgets under pressure and processes adapting, physical risks relating to attendees may be slipping down the current priority list of considerations. 

Similarly, the threat of terrorism over major events will always loom large, while reduced recent investment into facilities and utilities can spring unexpected surprises and – of course – the Great British weather will never not be a factor.

We’ve even seen the recent outpouring of grief resulting from the death of a Royal Family member and must remember the impact these tragedies may have on society in the immediate aftermath. 

We’re heading into an exciting time, and with crossed fingers and the continued successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we’ll have a late summer full of events, reunions, and celebration. 

But while that future looks bright, whether the rain, a late cancellation from the talent involved, a rowdy crowd, or something far more sinister, events will still have to contend with other risks beyond COVID. 

And whilst succeeding in getting an event staged during these uncertain times will be a career highlight for any event manager, it is important to lean on suppliers and support networks to reduce the potential of other incidents becoming career defining.