In order to assess the industry's situation, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Lex Delles had a meeting with representatives of the Luxembourg Event Association (LEA) on Monday afternoon. LEA represents about 120 companies with operations in the events industry.
The ministers visited a company which rents out event equipment. In a normal year unaffected by the coronavirus, the company rents out the necessary equipment to approximately 5,000 events all across Europe. However, this year is different. Major events have been cancelled, and even the usually very busy summer months have been quiet. The company expects that its turnover will drop by 80% in 2020.
Charles Schroeder, the president of LEA, stated that compared to last year, only 20% of events were organised this summer. Schroeder explained that for the industry, the lockdown was in some form still going on as activities have not really picked up over the summer months either. The following eight months, he fears, will also be "very long and dark".
The industry's core business relies on people coming together, which is not ideal in a time when events are migrating onto the world wide web. This is why those working in the industry are calling for an extension of both partial unemployment and the recovery and solidarity fund. The politician's main goals should be to re-establish trust and create the necessary aids. Schroeder stated that in general, negotiations with the government were going well.
Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Lex Delles stressed that above all else, the government intended to avoid bankruptcies. In addition, his ministry was continuing talks with the European Commission in Brussels to expand the recovery and solidarity fund.
According to Delles, the negotiations mainly revolved around the possibility to extend certain deadlines and increase the amounts that could be given out.
While the pandemic was certainly changing the industry, Schroeder stated that he remained optimistic for the future, pointing out that there will always be a need for events in both private and professional spaces. He explained that people will continue to celebrate weddings, christenings, and birthdays with their friends and families, while businesses will need help to organise trade fairs, product presentations, and other corporate events.
Delles also took the opportunity to point out that events could still be organised, even with the current restrictions in place. The minister recommended getting in touch with those working within the industry to get an idea of the different options.
Schroeder concluded by stating that while the industry was well-aware that it had to reinvent itself and that there was a need for change on many different levels, they were also confident that events would never truly be gone.
Video in Luxembourgish
