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Wednesday 21 July 2021

The latest Corporate Event Buyers Survey carried out amongst 111 buyers of internal events in London, indicates a slow but steady return to live events, with 56% of respondents confirming that they have 2021 events booked in third party venues.

The recent online survey of corporate event buyers in London, presented in partnership with Story Events, also reveals that 30% of buyers have live venues booked in September, which is seen as the month where live events will show a healthy return, with this number rising further to 32% for December.

Virtual/Hybrid events

The survey indicates that around half of London event organisers are planning to use virtual as part of their overall event mix, but around 30% are still undecided about the ongoing use of online events.

This trend is supported by the latest booking data from Venue Search London, who report that, whilst enquiries bookings for staff summer and Christmas parties are picking up well, many are choosing to keep their larger meetings and conferences online for the coming months.

 

2021 Christmas Parties

Turning to the all-important Christmas Party season, the picture has moved little from our February survey, when 82% of those surveyed said that they were awaiting further clarity on regulations.

This number has now reduced to 66%, but the majority are still undecided (which is no surprise to us given the current increasing case numbers). More encouragingly for Christmas Party venues in London, 18% are currently exploring options of in the booking process and very few (6%) have decided not to book a live party for December 2021.

Internal Event Budgets

Given that spends were severely depressed last year, with virtual events proving less expensive to deliver than live, it is no surprise to see that a high number of respondents forecasted an increase in internal event spends this year, as they return to live formats.

However, a large number are also uncertain on spends in the second half of 2021, indicating the above uncertainty around December and other events in the coming months.

 
Summarising the survey results, Founder of Story Events and Venue Search London, Sam Gill, commented, “There are no huge surprises is these results, which indicate a gradual return to live for some, but an ongoing nervousness around committing to live events until the case rates begin to flatten off, as forecasted, in a few weeks’ time”.

“If things go to plan, we anticipate a large spike in demand in the weeks around the August Bank Holiday, which will put huge pressure on dates in many popular venues, so we advise buyers to start their search process, to get ahead of the game, whilst we all await the improving news on the ongoing health challenges over the coming weeks.”