Founder and organiser of the Bournemouth 7s music and sports festival, Roger Woodall, has said that he remains positive about the future after a tough year of cancelled work due to the pandemic.
“When we found out in March last year that the festival likely couldn’t go ahead on the 2020 May bank holiday, we went ahead and rescheduled to August.
“We thought we would be able to put it on, but as it got closer it was becoming clear we had to cancel.”
The UK events industry is worth an approximate £42.3 bn, according to Eventbrite.
For the 2020 Bournemouth 7s Festival, organisers offered a refund or an exchange to a ticket for 2021. Woodall said: “80% of people decided to rollover their ticket from 2020 for this year’s festival”, with the organisers being “blown away by the support.”
This year’s festival is scheduled to take place in May.
The future of festivals?
Following the announcement yesterday that Glastonbury Festival had been cancelled for the second year in a row, doubts have been cast over the likelihood of festivals returning this year.
Woodall added: “The events industry has been kicked the hardest by the pandemic. We were the first industry to shut down and we will be the last to reopen.
“It’s not just the organisers that feel the strain when an event gets cancelled, it goes all down the supply chain – to artists, their management, security, toilets and more. There are so many people that go into organising a big event like this.”
Woodall, who also hosts a podcast where he discusses subjects such as the risks of his line of work in the pandemic, said: “We work 362 days a year to bank on earning our money on three days of the year. But unfortunately, when a global pandemic comes, there’s nothing we can do.
“We are so excited and hopeful about this year’s festival and for everyone to finally let their hair down after what’s happened across the world.”
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