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County show organisers discuss their event plans for 2022
In 2021, the Great Yorkshire Show tweaked its opening hours and crowd capacities to meet COVID restrictions and strict criteria set by North Yorkshire County Council Public Health and Harrogate Borough Council. The county show attracts more than 130,000 people each year and like so many shows, contributes millions to the local economy; it was important that the event went ahead.
Twelve months on, and those tweaks were so successful that the Great Yorkshire Show has vowed to keep the changes, extending the show to four days, reducing opening hours by three hours each day, and putting a cap on crowd numbers.
The pandemic forced the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, organiser of the Great Yorkshire Show, to change its operations and push a reset button.
Mark Stoddart, financial controller at Yorkshire Agricultural Society, explained: “In 2021, the show ran across four days and it’s a move that we’re sticking with. Historically, we have had 40,00045,000 people through our gates each day, but we’ll be restricting numbers and if we sell out, we can expect to welcome 135,000 to 140,000 people to the Great Yorkshire Show.
“In 2021, we reduced our opening hours. We used to open the gates at 7.30am and run until 7.30pm. We changed that and ran from 8am until 6pm and it made things easier for everyone. A 12hour shift for staff and traders is hard so the reduction in hours took the edge off and it’s a move we’re going to keep.”
This move saves money. A three-hour reduction in opening hours means a small reduction in staffing costs. However, as a money man, Stoddart has an eye on the figures. He said: “The cost of staff will be a big issue – security staff, gate staff, catering staff and those managing traffic. The national minimum wage is going up by 6.2 per cent so there’s pressure on the bottom line.”
But there’s also pressure on the supply chain. Stoddart confirmed that the show is struggling to source toilets, shower blocks, and grandstand seating but it’s an issue he and his team are determined to get round.
DIESEL BAN REVERSED
Paul Hooper, secretary of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), echoed Stoddart’s concerns regarding contractors and the supply chain. “There are issues with contractors, suppliers, and staffing but in general, things are positive. Momentum is definitely building.”
Hooper is celebrating. The association successfully appealed against the Government’s ban on red diesel. Agricultural showgrounds and agricultural showground activities are now exempt from the red diesel ban, and the decision has also been reversed on ploughing matches. Some organisers have breathed a sigh of relief, as the upcoming ban on red diesel would have meant cost increases.
NEW APPROACH
Denis Dooley, chief executive at the New Forest Agricultural Show Society, organiser of The New Forest and Hampshire County Show, confirmed that costs are increasing. He said: “The costs of running the show have gone up. We’ve been able to cut back in some areas and we’ve gone up in others, and we’ve pre-empted a fall in trade stands.
“We have also renegotiated some of our contracts. Most contractors have kept their prices similar, but I have found that it has been important to work together, as a team.”
The New Forest and Hampshire County Show has not taken place since 2019. As a result, Dooley and his team have had several years to think about the direction of the show. Dooley and the show team are taking a more interactive and educational approach, giving visitors the opportunity to learn through activities and take away an experience.
COMMON FEAR
Tech Events, Qdos, Power Logistics, John M Carter, and Enhanced Care Services are providing equipment and services to The New Forest and Hampshire County Show, which will welcome 85,000 people on site from July 26-28. Dooley, however, is still looking for waste contractors, litter pickers and toilet cleaning services, and he is looking forward to running a show that is “as close to normal as possible”.
He continued: “The whole experience of the last two years has brought agricultural shows closer together because we had a common fear. Collaboration has shown that we can do more, and the pandemic has brought us all closer together.”
Hooper agrees. The ASAO is forging ahead with new Learning Days that encourage agricultural show organisers to share knowledge and best practice. This is vital if county show organisers wish to recover strongly following a two-year hiatus.
BACK TO NORMAL
The Usk Show, Monmouthshire, a oneday show, was one of the few agricultural events to take place in the UK last year and it was the only agricultural show to be open to the public in Wales.
Nia Osborne, event manager and show secretary, explained that the event falls late in the show calendar (September 10). Hence, in 2021, many restrictions had been lifted by the time the event took place.
“We made changes to our show last year,” commented Osborne. “We tweaked the site layout and spread things out, we gave each of our food traders a gazebo so the food hall felt more like a food market, and we adopted a one-way system within our marquees, which may stay for 2022.”
She continued: “But we also had a big problem with traffic. We run a park and ride system but with COVID restrictions, it wasn’t viable to run it. We ran a shuttle bus from the town centre, but it was not used because there was a lot of nervousness around public transport. People travelled to the show in their cars, and this had a huge knock-on effect. As a result, we’re putting in additional park and ride facilities, in various directions, so that it relieves the pressure on some routes and we’re using our e-tickets to encourage people to turn off their SatNav and follow directional signage.”
Usk Show works with Chevron Traffic Management, Prestige Toilet Hire, Smiths Waste Management, and Fedwen Marquees. Osborne confirmed that she has a good relationship with the show’s supply chain and hopes that 2022 will see a return to “normality”.
“I hope there are less restrictions and less hoops to jump through,” she concluded.
Stoddart agreed and said: “We were lucky because we were able to run our show in 2021 on a semi-normal basis. It will be nicer to go back to an even greater sense of normal and after listening to customer feedback, the changes we have made will make the visitor experience so much better.”
Image: © George Harrison/Shambala
Go with the flow
Organisers are looking to build greater resilience into their temporary water supply. Here, industry water experts discuss the current marketplace
Organisers are not messing around,” says Bill Wootten, managing director of Liquiline, the temporary water supply and bulk water provider. Wootten is talking to Stand Out and explaining the current feeling within the marketplace and trends impacting the events industry. “Many organisers have been quick to say, ‘Yes’ to our quotes for temporary water solutions and have then said, ‘Here’s the purchase order number’. It’s great because we can get on with planning.”
Rigorous planning has always been an essential element of complex event design and management, but events professionals will need to pay special attention this year. The greatest logistical brains will be needed to manage the sheer volume of work that event suppliers are undertaking to satisfy all client demands and requirements.
SUPPLIER CONCERNS
Like many other suppliers within the events industry, temporary water providers are feeling the pressure; they are drowning in queries from event and festival organisers, but they are also fielding calls from organisers that are concerned about whether their incumbent contractors will be able to fulfil contracts.
“We have received quite a few calls from our clients, double-checking that we can do their event. They ask: ‘Are you going to be able to do it?’ They have concerns because some of their other suppliers have called them and let them down.”
Some organisers have rolled over shows from 2020 and rescheduled events. It means there are date clashes in the marketplace. Hence, organisers are nervous about availability.
As a result, organisers of large-scale events are placing orders and paying deposits earlier than normal. For Wootten, this is a good thing. He can plan water systems and workload, ensure resources are in place, and he knows what resources he can stretch and by how much. For example, Liquiline has pockets of availability in June and August, but the business has no capacity to take on any new events in July.
EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Hans Verhoeven, managing director of MTD, concurred. The events industry has changed in the last 24 months and there are pressures on the sector. Verhoeven comments: “This year will be an important year to watch. There is a shortage on many commodities, due to low investment years, and a growing demand for equipment.
“Organisers are facing lower and reduced budgets and suppliers must increase their budgets because everything has become more expensive. So, there is a clash, and we must find compromises with our customers every day. Secondly, there is a pressure on labour and freelancers.
“From a customer point of view, we see a couple of trends. Our customers are consolidating and becoming bigger. These big festival organisers want to close big package deals against lower prices. That means that we as supplier must have an efficient organisation and grow as well to keep supporting our customers and we must open more depots in the UK.”
Verhoeven continues: “Customers are also implementing sustainability objectives. This is a very good initiative because we must take care of the climate and water is an important commodity. Everybody must understand that the world is growing in population and the volume of drinking water that we have today will not increase. So, we must work on products to reduce the drinking water intake.”
INVESTMENT
Verhoeven says that MTD can help customers with filtration, reusing toilet black water as flushing water for toilets and reusing grey water from showers. This saves drinking water and energy. Furthermore, MTD has a CO2 calculator, and can calculate how much CO2 it uses for the delivery of its products and services, and it has also developed a real-time monitoring system, which enables a customer to see how much water it has used and at what time. The real-time monitoring system is beneficial as organisers can use the data to design a more economic and sustainable infrastructure system for the following year.
This is incredibly advantageous as several organisers look to develop their water systems on site.
Liquiline is investing in similar water meter technology that measures water usage and provides organisers with data. “People want to see where water is being used,” adds Wootten.
Shambala Festival, for example, has contracted Liquiline this year. Wootten and his team will remap the entire water system and digitise it, displaying the underlying system in more detail and put in new permanent infrastructure so that Shambala can draw all its water from a mains supply.
Chris Johnson, director of Shambala, explains: “In 2019, we were informed by our local authority that there was a threat to our water supply because a local reservoir had low levels due to unknown reasons. There was a possibility that our water supply could have been cut off. This would have meant a fortune in tankering.”
Johnson says that he is looking forward to working with Liquiline. Wootten believes that putting in new connections will give customers a better experience. What’s more, Wootten says that it makes sense for organisers to invest in the long-term future of their event and whilst such a new system will mean less pipe work for any temporary water provider, it does make life easier for any plumbing contractor.
GROWTH AND RESILIENCE
This season, Liquiline will be working on site at TruckFest, NASS, Cereals, Royal International Air Tattoo, Brighton Pride, and Boardmasters, which also wishes to put more pipework in the ground to create greater resilience.
Currently, there is a lot of pressure from water networks for organisers to install more pipe in the ground. This helps to avoid thermal gain in the pipework, as the hotter water gets, the quicker the quality of the water deteriorates.
Wootten, who joined Liquiline in September, concludes: “We have 80 projects between May and September. I want to grow the business. I am employing more project coordinators to have closer relationships with customers. We want good plumbers, we want to make plans, and we want to build relationships.”
Liquiline has recently invested in OnePlan software to help the company with more efficient site and water management plans and planning, so that organisers can be shown pipe routes and monitoring points, and the business has also invested in new six tap units, as well as new frontage for Liquiline’s eight tap units.
We are proud to be the chosen drinking water supplier to premier events & festivals across the UK
• Design and build of pressurised & chlorinated water networks • Tested, quality-assured supplies • Full compliance with BS8551, UK & EU Water Regulations • Advice and planning for events of all sizes • Bulk water storage • On site water treatment • Drinking water tankers and tanks • Bottled water, delivered by the pallet • Bottle refill stations • Sinks with hot and cold water • Waste water management • Full on-site management during your event
For more information please call: Tel. 01258 830324
Event Water Services
office@liquiline.co.uk
www.liquilinewaterservices.co.uk
We are a dedicated company and always try to exceed expectations. We provide a 24/7 service 365 days a year so no need to panic when you get a problem we are only a phone call away. • Dedicated mobile water quality service • Full onsite management during your event • Free advice and planning service for any event size • Design and build of pressurised and chlorinated water networks • On Site water treatment • Bottle refill stations • Tested quality assured supplies • Dedicated drinking water tankers • Various sized dedicated water tanks • Bulk water storage • Bulk water delivery • Full compliance with BS8551 water regulations • Trade equipment hire 2.5k tanks fresh 10k tanks fresh 10k tanks waste 4k-100k Pillowtanks fresh 4k-100k Pillowtanks waste Tanks, Pillowtanks, pumps • Highly maintained fleet of Water Tankers. • 2k bowsers inc self serve bib taps • Tanker certification, Chlorination and Sample Get In Touch Website - https://www.greensh2o.co.uk/ Office - 01256 225635 24/7 Emergency - 07717 846059
We are a dedicated company and always try to exceed expectations. We provide a 24/7 service 365 days a year so no need to panic when you get a problem we are only a phone call away. • Dedicated mobile water quality service • Full onsite management during your event • Free advice and planning service for any event size • Design and build of pressurised and chlorinated water networks • On Site water treatment • Bottle refill stations • Tested quality assured supplies • Dedicated drinking water tankers • Various sized dedicated water tanks • Bulk water storage • Bulk water delivery • Full compliance with BS8551 water regulations • Trade equipment hire 2.5k tanks fresh 10k tanks fresh 10k tanks waste 4k-100k Pillowtanks fresh 4k-100k Pillowtanks waste Tanks, Pillowtanks, pumps • Highly maintained fleet of Water Tankers. • 2k bowsers inc self serve bib taps • Tanker certification, Chlorination and Sample Get In Touch Website - https://www.greensh2o.co.uk/ Office - 01256 225635 24/7 Emergency - 07717 846059
We are a dedicated company and always try to exceed expectations. We provide a 24/7 service 365 days a year so no need to panic when you get a problem we are only a phone call away. • Dedicated mobile water quality service • Full onsite management during your event • Free advice and planning service for any event size • Design and build of pressurised and chlorinated water networks • On Site water treatment • Bottle refill stations • Tested quality assured supplies • Dedicated drinking water tankers • Various sized dedicated water tanks • Bulk water storage • Bulk water delivery • Full compliance with BS8551 water regulations • Trade equipment hire 2.5k tanks fresh 10k tanks fresh 10k tanks waste 4k-100k Pillowtanks fresh 4k-100k Pillowtanks waste Tanks, Pillowtanks, pumps • Highly maintained fleet of Water Tankers. • 2k bowsers inc self serve bib taps • Tanker certification, Chlorination and Sample
ONLINE LEARNING CONTENT – REAL EXPERTS IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
The right crowd
Event Crowd’s Dodge Woodall and Craig Mathie explain why they hope their new online event course will transform the future of events and embolden the next generation of events professionals
We need people now,” says Dodge Woodall, founder of Bournemouth 7s festival. Woodall is chatting to Stand Out and explaining the rationale behind Event Crowd, a new diploma course that is designed to introduce young people to the world of events and train them to become the next generation of events professionals.
“So many people left the industry when COVID struck, and lots of companies got rid of good people,” explains Woodall. “I created Event Crowd because our industry needed a way to fast track people into the events sector because our industry is on its knees.”
Woodall is open and honest when talking about his new venture and his passion for the sector, and business, is abundant. He believes that there are 500,000 jobs waiting to be created in 2022 but the events industry can’t wait three years for fresh new talent.
The Event Crowd Diploma is his answer to the resource crisis that our industry faces. It is a course, recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and is comprised of six modules and 120 hours of learning; 40 events professionals, all experts in their own field, have shared their knowledge on topics including event planning, operations, project and budget management, sustainability, welfare, supplier management, event control, and event marketing.
Woodall continues: “We can’t wait three years for people to leave university. We have a bunch of young people who haven’t been able to physically attend university for the last two years. Kids don’t want to go to university and come out with £50,000 of debt hanging round their necks to get a job with an entry level salary. Event Crowd will teach them everything they need to know, from all angles, and fast track people into our amazing industry.”
OPENING DOORS
Event Crowd has been almost two years in the making. When COVID-19 forced Woodall to cancel Bournemouth 7s in 2020, he began looking for a new idea. He and his team have spent the last two years working solidly on the new diploma and now “it feels lovely to get it out to market”.
DODGE WOODALL
120 HOURS OF LEARNING CONTENT IS AVAILABLE
“I want to show young people that you don’t need to go to university to get ahead,” Woodall adds. “I want people to come into the industry that I love. The events industry is a strong community, but young people don’t see events when they do their exams and A Levels. Lots of people just stumble across events and fall into their jobs. I don’t want people to stumble across the events world. I want the next generation of events professionals to come through and I want to open doors for people, and I wouldn’t have invested two years into this project if I didn’t believe in our industry.”
EMBOLDEN YOUNG PEOPLE
Event Crowd is inclusive; there are no exams to sit, no previous qualifications are needed, and students have the option to spread the cost of their training over 12 monthly payments. Anyone taking part in the course can also choose the pace at which they learn. If someone gave the course their full attention, it could be done in four weeks. Or you could choose to complete the course over three months, six months, nine months, or a year. What’s more, event suppliers can also put their employees through the course so that they have a greater understanding of the broader picture and how all aspects of the events industry works.
“We know that there are good event degrees out there, but we’ve tried to bring together 40 leading events professionals to discuss from day one what it’s actually like to work in events,” comments Craig Mathie, group managing director of Event Crowd. “We want to embolden young people and strengthen their knowledge so that they are an asset to the events industry moving forward.
“COVID decimated a workforce, and we believe that there’s a real problem on the horizon. There’s not enough people in the market to support organisers and as we, hopefully, enter a hedonistic decade of partying and live events, the events industry will need that next generation of industry staff.”
INDUSTRY STANDARD
According to Mathie, the online learning course will bring the next generation of events professionals “to a standard” and will provide them with an understanding of what real life events work is like, from the start. At the end of the course, students produce an event management plan that broadly covers all aspects of event delivery. It is assessed and must “be of a certain level”. Participants also come away with a heap of templates and “assets” that they can use as they progress through their events career.
“I’m proud of the fact that Event Crowd is being delivered by people who are delivering live events now,” adds Mathie. “Some students leave university not knowing what The Purple Guide is or an event safety plan. I want to keep developing Event Crowd and keep evolving it, bringing new experts in all the time, and I hope Event Crowd becomes something of an industry standard.”
