WHY WE ARE HERE

The show WON’T go on… if we don’t act TODAY

Victoria’s much-loved major events and title as the ‘Event Capital of the world are at risk, with many event, venue, hospitality and entertainment businesses decimated by the pandemic.

100% shutdown since March, the suppliers who power the events world are on the brink; businesses are going bust, infrastructure liquidated and staff have had to move on.

With no support to date, the people who put on the show simply cannot survive any longer.

Events don’t happen overnight; with months of lead time and planning, we must not be short-sighted with the road ahead.

We need Government support and a proactive plan to re-open.

Watch this video created by event hire leaders ‘Harry The Hirer’ to understand the impact – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeWg7N52FI 

__________________________________________________________

WHAT OUR SECTOR IS
 
Hospitality Events - major events (Spring Racing Carnival, AFL Grand Final, Australian Open), business events inbound and out bound, conferences, festivals, wedding sector, social events, philanthropy.
 
Often confused with HOSPITALITY Retail which is the restaurant, bar cafe sector.

Wedding Sector
-       $2 billion wedding sector, employing 750,00 people 
Business/Conference Events 
-       $35 billion dollar economic driver, employing 300,000 people
__________________________________________________________

WHO IS AFFECTED

-       Employees, sole traders, temporary visa workers, sub-contractors in the tens of thousands 
-       Creatives services, marquee and equipment suppliers, caterers, florists, AV and production, transportation, security, arts and entertainment, beauty, fashion etc
-       Depression, employee fatigue, metal health issues are snowballing 
-       Brides who have been moved 3-4 times - I have 600 couples who desperately want to know when, how and if they will have their wedding 
-       Societal impact of no hope 

Big issues is timing - Planning times are 6-18 months for events and weddings.
 
We were the first out and will be the last back into market – we are the forgotten sector.

__________________________________________________________

INDUSTRY ABILITIES 

Our industry is structured and planned - we are prepared for Covid and have set out the model for safety, distancing, track, tracing and isolation, we know who all participants and guests are as they are ticketed/registered.

__________________________________________________________

THE PROBLEM
 
Current roadmap out wipes off all trade for October, November and December, crashing businesses and making people move their event for a second or third time - and the flow on effect hits 2021.
 
There is a lack of understanding of planning timelines for events – the events that will need to be cancelled due to restrictions were planned years ago. With 9 months of our industry at zero revenue, our industry won’t recover until 2023.

Future is always bright and we have the Covid Solutions to make it happen, and get Melbourne back together again safely – in order to plan we need Goal Posts to know where we are kicking the ball!!!

__________________________________________________________

WHAT WE WANT – JOBKEEPER EXTENSION

JobKeeper to remain at its higher rate for our events and wedding sector 
JobKeeper to be extended for our events and wedding sector past March 2021. 
Government grants / tax relief etc directed to major events to support their regrowth and respect of the planning cycles.

__________________________________________________________

Please sign this petition to help us plead Daniel Andrews and the Victorian Government to help #bringbackmelbourne and save the future of events.
#SAVEVICEVENTS
 

 

WHO WE ARE – LEADERS BEHIND THIS INITIATIVE

The Big Group – a creative hospitality agency that has specialised in major events, catering, creative services and venue management for the last 30 years. 
We were forced to stand down our 1400 staff on March 17th before the announcement of JobKeeper. Currently it is illegal for us to operate under government restrictions.