2020 has been a catastrophic year for anyone working on the live events industry throughout the world. For those in Europe the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been further compounded by the BREXIT negotiations and the potential fallout from any agreement on freedom of travel throughout Europe in the future.  

In a year of chaos for the live events industry many music festival organising teams have been laid off or at best furloughed there are many organisers desperate to put on their festival in 2021. Due to cost reductions and squeezed schedules music festival organisers are currently working flat out on their planning. 

When live events resume in the UK sometime in 2021 event organisers are going to be faced with a whole host of new restrictions and measures that will most likely be mandatory. Estimates suggest these new measures could account for up to 20% of event running costs, what are the likely measures that have a cost, hidden or otherwise.     

The development and progress of technology that can be used in the music festival industry has not stopped with the coronavirus pandemic. Conversely numerous software companies have been busy developing technology and software that will improve event goer experience and make festival organisers life's easier.  

With new surges in coronavirus infections throughout Europe and the rest of the world it appears that almost all festive and New Year events are facing cancellation. Although incredibly frustrating for the live events industry it is time to grin and bear it for the next few months to improve the prospects of live vents returning later in 2021.     

In these difficult times it's hard to believe that anyone would consider creating a brand-new UK music festival for the summer of 2021. Using the old Latin proverb ‘Fortune favours the bold’ is perhaps a relevant statement here, creating a new music festival is no mean task and in the current climate certainly risky. 

Whether it’s a large music festival or other smaller event all have some kind of online presence. The events sector is not renowned for their sophisticated websites and have a tendency to be scarcely populated with content, poor usability and navigation perhaps relying on an online reproduction of their event poster. 

The traditional source of revenue for music festivals are ticket sales, vendor pitch fees and sponsorship revenue. It's time that festival organisers got more creative and start looking at additional revenue streams. Creating alternative sources of revenue may help organisers with cash flow and assist in securing their financial survival. 

British music festivals have always had to provide suitable insurance coverage for their events. Festival organisers had a variety of policies to choose from to cover just about any eventuality. When coronavirus hit and festivals were cancelled some insurance companies paid out and others did not. What is likely to happen with insurance products in 2021? 

Since the emergence of Gay Pride events in the late 70s in many of the world's largest cities their popularity has spawned some great new music festivals. From LGBTQ+ friendly festivals a new genre of music festival has emerged in recent years targeted specifically at the LGBTQ+ community.

In response to an industry decimated by the coronavirus pandemic it’s a welcome sign that some of the big technology giants are improving their platforms to help an industry run their events albeit in a virtual environment. Previously used for small meetings or webinars the technology is being leveraged to allow for larger externally focused events. 

The QR Code has been around for years and is an easy way to transfer data making it popular across all business sectors. With the impact of restrictions from coronavirus measures the popularity of the QR Code is rising and could be one of the most useful pieces of technology available to the live events sector in 2021. 

For those living in a town or region with a well-run local council they are probably fortunate enough to benefit from some form of organised local festival or event each year. Each city or local council is tasked with promoting local attractions, businesses and an overall community spirit and holding an annual festival is often a good way of achieving this.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier in 2020 many music festival organisers made the tough decision to postpone their 2020 events until 2021. For event goers and ticket buyers this was a frustrating period because the highlight event of their summer had been taken away. Most ticket holders opted to carry over their tickets to 2021 so constant updates are essential. 

As many music festival organisers around the world announce that they plan to go ahead with music festivals in the summer of 2021 what are the realistic chances for the intrepid traveller looking to travel internationally combining a holiday with attending a music festival in another country?

With artists and musician unable to perform live since early 2020 many are focusing on producing new material. This has led to an increased popularity in music upload platforms as artists try and promote new material to as wide an audience as possible but with so many platforms available which ones are best for artists? 

Entering the world of entertainment and artist management is a tough challenge and widely understood to be one of the most brutal occupations to consider. For event organisers and artist liaison managers the artist's manager can be unreliable and unpredictable but they only see the surface of what is a tough job.   

As the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier in 2020 the entire events and entertainment industry has been one of the hardest hit economically. Staff have been laid off or at best furloughed and continued restrictions on audiences, operating hours and varying financial support from The UK Government mean the outlook for the first half of 2021 is bleak.  

With the events industry in turmoil in 2020 many venues and festivals face financial difficulties and despite financial help from various sources may still be faced with permanent closure. However, for cash rich investors interested in the events sector this represents investment opportunities.

Any event organiser wants to make their event a memorable one and the venue selected can really make a big difference. In reviewing the availability in London there are a surprising number of historic and iconic venues for hire catering for small intimate private parties up to larger scale events.