The Meetings Show postponed until 19-20 October 2020

The Meetings Show has announced today that the exhibition, which was due to take place in June this year, has been postponed until 19-20 October. The venue is still London Olympia.

The show is looking at the format and whether it will have a virtual element, to attract buyers who aren’t able to attend in person. At the moment no-one knows what guidance will be in place for health and safety, social distancing, whether they will have to limit the numbers attending and have a one-way flow around the hall. How to deliver the educational element still hasn’t been decided.

The plan is for The Meetings Show to return to June dates in 2021.

Pulse Survey

Every two weeks, Northstar Meetings Group, owners of The Meetings Show, carry out a survey asking meeting planners what is happening. The latest Pulse Survey was carried out from 14-20 April 14 and 1,045 people participated. The full results are published on their website, but the key findings indicate that:

• About 40% of organisers who are still working are currently sourcing and booking events and 36% percent are researching but not booking yet.

• Meeting organisers are expecting to make significant changes to their events following COVID-19. They expect to organiser fewer events, particularly ones with a large quantity of attendees. However, some are saying that they will also organise fewer small events and some expecting more smaller events, although 35% think that it is too soon to speculate.

• As a consequence, large venues will lose bookings and cruise ships will definitely see a decline.

• 82% of organisers are thinking about using virtual platforms and use virtual site visits

• There will be health and safety professionals on site, as well as guidance and education for attendees. New meeting room layouts, distancing measures, hand sanitizers and signage to reduce risk will become normal.

• Business travel, reduced event budgets, possible reduced demand for face to face meetings will all be measures that need to be addressed.