Accompanying the daily pleas of professionals in the entertainment technology and live events industry, the rallying cry of "return to live" has not just been echoed all over social media, but it was officially instituted as a full-blown business strategy earlier this year by Live Nation's Return to Live initiative.
Indeed, one need only peruse a feed or two to hear phrases like: "Please help us get back to work." "I really want to keep doing what I love." "My first day of touring in 21 months, fingers crossed." "Nice to finally see so many friends getting back to what they all do best."
So many plans, events, trips remain in question; many events are being canceled, but I continue to really wonder why. The industry is telling us it is ready. Three-thousand strong (and counting) already registered for LDI are telling us they are ready. As my colleague, LDI show director Jessi Cybulski, said to me last night, "This industry shows up. That's what we do."
We are holding LDI in November. We are here to support this community and lead by example. We have taken what some might consider extreme steps to have as safe a show as possible while still creating an amazing experience. We see no reason not to move forward. How can we espouse "return to live" if we, as show producers, don't make the commitment to, ehhh, return to live?
And there are naysayers, of course, and we understand hesitancy and confusion. As my colleague Jill Birkett so eloquently posted a few weeks ago, right here on LinkedIn, "People who are attending B2B trade shows are there to buy....so many other business professionals have found they need that networking, that chance to touch/feel/sample the wares and compare....So put on your 'big boy pants' (big girl pants), get your mask on, buy your ticket, and get to the show(s) so you don't miss out on what's new, what the competition is doing and products/services that can give you ROI in tough times."
So when someone says, "Are you having LDI?" I ask, "How can we not have LDI?" Join me in spreading the news that we are open for business, that we want you to be open for business. After all, #wemakeevents also.
In fact, share this article, and email me at [email protected] to tell me you did, and I'll give you a code for something free at LDI.
I will be there in November. I surely hope you will join me in a celebration of all that is live and even more so, life.
The show must go on.
The industry is telling us it is ready. Three-thousand strong (and counting) already registered for LDI2021 and are telling us they are ready!