Over the past couple months, we’ve seen large-scale festivals and sporting events begin to return at full capacity, and although in-person trade shows and conferences are also resuming, there has recently been some discussion as to why they seem to be lagging behind.
Several events have recently cancelled, including the NY Auto Show, and many others have been dealing with lower attendance numbers. When XLIVE spoke to Jay Burress, President & CEO of Visit Anaheim, in June, he noted that there are a significant number of events on the books for the tail end of 2021 and 2022, but it’s now taking more groups to get to pre-pandemic attendance numbers.
On the other hand, festivals like Lollapalooza are coming back in full force. The festival recently hosted around 385,000 attendees over its four days and only led to about 200 confirmed Covid cases. It is now being touted as an example to model future events on, and a big part of its success is attributed to the fact that it required fans to show proof of vaccination or a negative test.
While there are many reasons for the differences between music and sporting events and B2B events, — including, for example, the fact that B2B event attendance is often company-sponsored, and many organizations still have strict restrictions in place when it comes to business travel — one glaring difference up to now has been the lack of entry requirements.
Many trade shows and conferences have been requiring masks, especially as local mandates continue to be updated, but vaccination status has not been a common requirement. AEG and Live Nation announced last week that they will be requiring proof of vaccination at their events beginning in October, and it seems that major B2B events are now following suit. CES 2022 made waves this week as the first major B2B event to announce that proof of vaccination will be required for in-person attendees.
“We all play a part in ending the pandemic through encouraging vaccinations and implementing the right safety protocols,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA, in a statement. “We are taking on our responsibility by requiring proof of vaccination to attend CES 2022 in Las Vegas.” CTA also noted that they are currently “assessing the acceptance of proof of a positive antibody test as an alternative requirement.”
The NGA Show, taking place in Vegas next month, will now be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test. Similarly, Convene will be requiring proof of vaccination status to enter its locations across the country beginning on September 13th — anyone who has started the vaccination process as of that date will be allowed to enter — and will require everyone entering their locations to be fully vaccinated by October 4th.
However, many events are still only implementing mask mandates at most, including PACK EXPO, which will take place in Las Vegas next month. “PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO will be the first opportunity in 18 months to see live, in-person technology in action and is the only comprehensive packaging and processing trade show in the world this year,” Jim Pittas, President and CEO of PMMI tells XLIVE. “To execute a successful event, we are working hand in hand with leadership in Las Vegas to ensure that all health and safety guidelines are closely followed.
“Las Vegas continues to host events with new protocols in place, which PMMI will implement through every facet of the event, following all CDC and local regulations and industry best practices. As guidelines evolve, we will keep our PACK Ready health and safety plan updated. In accordance with local guidance, we are currently requiring masks and are not requiring proof of vaccination.”
PACK EXPO and other Vegas events’ regulations may still change, especially as Nevada governor Sisolak just announced that large events in the state that choose to only admit those who have been fully vaccinated will be able to forgo the state’s mask mandate. The CDC guidelines still recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas of high transmission, which includes Las Vegas, but most events are prioritizing local guidelines and will likely use the promise of a mask-free environment as a way to encourage more attendees to get vaccinated.
Now that shows like CES and NGA have taken the plunge and are starting to require proof of vaccination, there will likely be more events announcing similar protocols in the coming weeks.