WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

The global pandemic crushed the global events industry in record time, but a new phoenix is rising from the ashes …

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Firstly, thanks to Manish at Eventcombo, a New York based events platform specialising in hybrid and virtual events, for asking me to be the keynote at their annual summit where we discussed what else but the Future of Events and Event Tech – something that’s been top of mind as I work with event organisers and organisations around the world who are all still reeling from the disruption caused by the pandemic.

During the keynote I shone a light on the impact that the global pandemic has had on the industry which included wiping out over $30 Billion in revenues in the US alone and putting a $1.5 Trillion industry on its knees as many of the players in the market tried to pivot their businesses and business models just to make it through to the other side.

Watch the keynote in full

Fuelled by the pandemic we’ve also recently seen some of the biggest venture capital investments the industry has ever seen, including the $250 Million investment in Hopin, another popular events platform, as people everywhere hastily switched their events from in person to virtual and looked for simpler ways to make everything “work,” and, needless to say this shift combined with fresh investment accelerated the development of many similar multi-sided events platforms that, once the pandemic fades into the background, will likely be the industry incumbents for years to come – if not longer.

I then fast forwarded to have a look at what future events themselves will look like – from the standard in person, hybrid, and virtual events we’re all accustomed to today, to highly complex mixed reality and fully immersive events that are attracting not hundreds of thousands of attendees by tens of millions.

And if you thought the events of the future will look like the events you experience today then you need to watch the keynote and think again …