The event industry sets a bright signal

“The overwhelming number of supporters and participants from all disciplines of the event industry clearly shows that we have a huge problem,” said Tom Koperek, initiator of the “Night of Light 2020” campaign and CEO of LK-AG Essen. The event industry will not survive the next 100 days if there are no alternative solutions. “We hope that politicians have now woken up and are ready to enter into a solution-oriented dialogue with us. ”

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With the biggest campaign of this kind ever, companies in the event industry have come together and sent a bright signal for an industry threatened with extinction: Event locations, venues, event centers and other buildings have become glowing red memorials as part of the “Night of Light”. The medium of light was intended to make the event industry visible in its entirety — an industry that comprises over 150 trades and disciplines and therefore does not have a uniform lobby, although it is among the top 3 industries in Germany in terms of employment figures and turnover. Concerts, folk festivals, company parties and trade fairs alone attract almost 500 million visitors in Germany in normal years. Since these cannot take place at all or can only take place subject to significant conditions, the event industry has been deprived of its working basis: there is a risk of serious consequences for the labor market and cultural diversity.

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Current assistance in the form of credit programs is not an effective means of saving the event industry, as the loans cannot be invested to create value. They must be spent to cover operating costs while there is still no income. In the end, the renewed insolvency is therefore linked to over-indebtedness of the affected companies. “This is just an extension of the infirmity,” Koperek said in a press conference on Monday. “You attach the event management to a ventilator and at some point the oxygen bottle will be empty.” He added that the campaign is expressly not directed against the hygiene measures adopted as a result of the corona crisis. “The virus is there. It is dangerous and cannot be controlled by us,” said Koperek. The aim of the campaign is the dialogue between the event industry and politicians in order to develop genuine aid measures. “How can we ensure that the majority of companies in the event industry survive the corona crisis? ”