The impact of COVID-19 on event management

The pandemic has caused seismic shifts in the events industry. Find out how it has changed.

What is event management? 

Simply put, event management is the creation and development of events that can vary in scale, such as weddings, parties, conferences, and music festivals. It is a dynamic field, where creativity and imagination are required in order to offer unique experiences to people. 

Event managers need to come up with different ideas to facilitate events and present them in a unique and interesting way. This fast-paced field requires event managers to stay at the top of their game - foreseeing and tackling any problems, as well as having multiple backup plans should things go awry. 

What was the impact of COVID-19 on event management? 

One of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 was on how we view public gatherings. The UK’s festival and live events sector was particularly badly hit. Popular festivals like Glastonbury and Hay-on-Wye were cancelled. Many people now think twice before attending any event in closed-spaces or in a large capacity. Even the wedding industry was severely impacted, as people had to scale down their events due to capacity restrictions. 

This called for an expertise in digital platforms as many events moved online. Virtual events are now increasing in popularity as the pandemic has changed the way we attend events. 

Some of the benefits of virtual events (apart from social distancing, of course) include that people can access them from anywhere in the world, no cap for number of participants, and ease of measuring the engagement and success of the events. Moreover, they can be cheaper to host. 

Hear more from MA Creative Events Management Course Leader, Claire Hearn, on the future of the events industry:

A lot of events like conferences, expos, career fairs, and talks and conferences have moved online. In fact, virtual events have been so successful, that even in a post-COVID world, they reign supreme. Some examples of events that have moved online are: 

• Tomorrowland: The globally renowned music festival moved online and hosted Tomorrowland Around the World, a two-day virtual music festival. 
• Adobe Summit: In the tech world, Adobe Summit moved its digital conference experience online. 
• Salesforce World Tour Sydney Reimagined: Moved online just a fortnight prior to the event, Salesforce held this online event in 2020. Thanks to its virtual nature, people can go to the website even now to look at the live recorded sessions!  

How can I enter the event management industry? 

Falmouth University offers a part-time online MA in Creative Events Management that you can access from anywhere in the world. This flexible masters degree offers you the chance to enter the world of event management; learn all about designing, planning, and managing events; gain certification as A Greener Festival Stage 1 Assessor and Disability Equality Training for Live Events.  

You will learn through the following modules, followed by a final project: 

Students will have access to RealWORKS, Falmouth University’s careers service up to five years after graduation. Those that study event management eventually go on to work in roles like: 

• Charity Fundraiser Administrator 

• Corporate Event Manager 

• Entertainment Manager 

• Event Manager/Planner/Coordinator 

• Event Project Manager 

• Exhibition Organiser 

• Festival Director 

• Operations Manager 

• PR Officer 

• Project Manager 

• Venue Manager 

• Wedding Coordinator/Planner 

Learn more about the careers available to you as a Creative Events Management graduate:

• What career opportunities exist in the digital events sphere?
• How do I get into event management as a career?
• MA Creative Events Management careers

If you are interested in a career around event management, discover more about Falmouth University's MA in Creative Events Management: