The Power of Events platform has launched at Here at Outernet in London, which saw partners and supporters join the core team to explore the new UK event industry platform. Bringing together the seven sectors that make up the world-leading UK event industry, the launch event saw representatives from Notting Hill Carnival, AEG Europe, London Marathon, ExCel London, WRG, Identity, DRPG, Wasserman, SunBelt Rentals, Creative Technology, JA Productions, Event Grads, SFL Group, and Entourage Pro attend. 

Also in attendance were representatives of freelance and online communities such as NOWIE, UK Live Event Freelancers Forum and event management students invited from university partners including Leeds Beckett, Westminster and Greenwich.

The launch presentation touched on the origins of The Power of Events, which evolved from the One Industry One Voice campaign during the pandemic. As a response to the lessons learnt during that time and the need to improve the data and research required to support the UK event industry, The Power of Events was established to continue building on the cross-sector collaboration and commitment to showcasing all aspects of the industry.

The platform content showcases the seven core sectors including overview videos, 100+ industry community organisations, 90+ industry calendar events profiled, and hundreds of business supporters recognised.

Rick Stainton, founder of The Power of Events, led the short launch presentation with a quick tour of the platform which allows people to explore the UK event industry across all sectors and with access to all the key industry communities.  He was very clear that the effort and work undertaken to get to the launch was just the start of the mission.

He said: “We’ve seen how bringing together some of our leading event businesses and organisations with academic support from our ten university partners has the potential to be a game changer in the way our industry is seen and understood. Making those connections was the first step – now we’ll be curating those relationships to help deliver robust data for the industry and evidence-based research. None of this would have been possible without the fantastic support we’ve had from all of our partners and supporters and we also wanted to acknowledge that and thank them for their commitment and belief in the mission we’ve set ourselves.”

Simon Hughes, director of The Power of Events, highlighted the importance of engaging with both students and the next generation of young talent as a critical element in the overall mission moving forwards.  He said: “We work in a world where our ability to deliver creative solutions to often complex and challenging requests sets us apart from many other career options.  That diversity and the wide range of skills we require to maintain our world-class reputation is both an opportunity and a barrier.  This resource has been designed to help us break down those barriers and make us more competitive when it comes to attracting new talent into the UK events industry.”

Stainton also confirmed that the web insight app will be launched later this spring with a cross four nations roadshow and urged people to explore the platform, share it with others and give feedback to help make it as comprehensive, representative and current as possible.

Image: Aniseed Photo