By Mary Tucker

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) reports that the U.S. business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions industry improved significantly in the second quarter of 2021 from the previous four quarters as cancellation rates of the physical events dropped to 66.5% from 90.4% in the first quarter 2021. About 98% of exhibitions were cancelled during the second half of 2020.

As a result of fewer cancellations, the CEIR Total Index, a measure of exhibition industry performance, improved from a decline of about 94% from 2019 in Q1 2021 to a decline of 79.1% from 2019 in Q2 2021. The performance of the U.S. economy was far better, registering a moderate 2.0% increase in real (inflation-adjusted) GDP from Q2 2019. It increased at an annual rate of 6.6% from the previous quarter, attributable to increases in personal consumption expenditures, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by increases in imports and decreases in private inventory investment, residential fixed investment and federal government spending.

Among cancelled events in Q2 2021, 82% of events pivoted to produce digital events, compared to 75% in Q1 2021. All events held in the second quarter of 2020 cancelled, making comparison of Q2 2021 performance results to Q2 2020 results not possible. Thus, completed events in the second quarter of 2021 are compared with those in the second quarter of 2019. Excluding cancelled events, the Total Index for completed events in Q2 2021 dropped by 37.6% from 2019, compared to a decline of 54.5% from 2019 in Q1 2021. All exhibition metrics for completed events in Q2 improved from Q1 even though all metrics still posted sharp declines from 2019. Attendees suffered the largest fall of 48.8%, followed by Real Revenues plunging by 47.3%. Exhibitors decreased 31.6% whereas Net Square Feet (NSF) tumbled 17.9% from the second quarter of 2019.

The U.S. economy has been growing since May 2020. With a sharp rebound in the third quarter of 2020 and a continued recovery through the second quarter of 2021, real GDP in Q2 2021 exceeded its peak in the fourth quarter of 2019 by 0.8%.

Delta infections have dampened economic activities during the third quarter of 2021. However, Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 data shows that the seven-day moving average of new cases appears to have passed the recent peak. In a sweeping attempt to contain the latest surge of COVID-19, on 9 September, President Joe Biden imposed stringent new vaccine rules on federal workers, health care staff and large employers with 100 or more employees. The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans, close to two-thirds of the American workforce. Furthermore, many large gathering venues require proof of vaccinations or negative COVID-19 tests.

“Because of those new initiatives, economic activities should continue at a robust pace with real GDP growth at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of over 5% during the second half of the year, and the B2B exhibition cancellation rate should decline further,” said CEIR Economist, Dr. Allen Shaw, Chief Economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc.

“With more vaccine mandates and safety measures implemented at large gatherings, and with a majority of the population vaccinated, the recovery of B2B exhibitions should begin by the fourth quarter of this year and gain momentum in 2022,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) has released the 2021 CEIR Index Report, which analyzes the 2020 exhibition industry performance and provides an economic and exhibition industry outlook for the next three years. CEIR collects data directly from exhibition organizers and urges those who do not provide their show data to do so. The annual CEIR Index Report for their shows’ market sector will be provided at no cost. Click here for information on how to purchase the complete 2021 CEIR Index Report as well as individual sector reports.

Mary Tucker is Senior PR/Communications Manager for CEIR.

By Climate Pledge Arena

Climate Pledge Arena announced the use of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology with Amazon One to make the in-arena shopping experience more efficient and cut wait times so guests can get back to the action faster. The four food and beverage stores equipped with Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One will open when the arena opens in October.

Guests visiting the four Just Walk Out-enabled stores at Climate Pledge Arena can insert their credit card at the location’s entry gates to shop or can hover their palm over an Amazon One device to enter. Once inside, guests can take what they want and then just leave after they’re done shopping. As they shop, Just Walk Out technology determines what they take from or return to the shelves, and the credit card they inserted or linked to their Amazon One ID will be charged for items they took after they leave the store. If a guest is new to using the Amazon One palm recognition service, they can enroll in less than a minute at any of the Amazon One enrollment kiosks located near the Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores on the arena’s main and upper concourses.

“For us, the fan experience inside Climate Pledge Arena is paramount; we want it to be simple, safe and fast for every guest,” said Todd Humphrey, SVP of Digital Fan Experience for the Seattle Kraken. “We are thrilled to work with Amazon to use their groundbreaking technology to make it as easy as hovering your palm, picking an item off a shelf, and leaving to make your purchase.”

The Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores will sell beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, water, and feature food offerings from The Climate Collective, the arena’s unique food and beverage program. Guests purchasing alcohol will be required to show their ID to a store attendant for age verification.

“We’re excited to work with Climate Pledge Arena to offer guests the ability to shop quickly and effortlessly when they’re enjoying a concert or a game at the new arena in Seattle, using a combination of both Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One,” said Dilip Kumar, Vice President of Physical Retail & Technology at Amazon. “Our physical retail technologies are designed to remove friction for customers as they shop, and we’re thrilled Climate Pledge Arena is offering checkout-free experiences for their guests so they can quickly get what they need and return to their event.”

White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients announced that current inbound entry restrictions into the U.S. would be lifted for fully vaccinated international travelers beginning in early November.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has been under pressure from many stakeholders to remove
travel restrictions on visitors from the United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, China, Brazil, South
Africa, India, and several other countries. The bans were preventing many international exhibitors and
attendees from attending conferences and trade shows in the U.S. just as face-to-face business events
were beginning to return.

The details: Starting in early November (exact date TBD), fully vaccinated travelers from anywhere in
the world will be able to fly into the U.S., subject to new testing and contact tracing procedures.

While many details are still being finalized, ECA currently understands the following:

• Travelers will need to show proof off full vaccination prior to boarding any U.S.-bound flight
• There will be no quarantine requirement upon arrival for fully vaccinated passengers
• As part of the ticketing and check-in processes, airlines will be collecting emails and phone
numbers from all passengers as part of a new enhanced contact-tracing system
• The current requirement that all passengers (including vaccinated U.S. citizens) obtain a
negative test result no more than 3 days before their flight departs will remain in place
• Similarly, all passengers 2 years and older must continue to wear as mask for the duration of any
flight to the U.S.

What’s next? In the coming days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will
determine the definition of “fully vaccinated” and which vaccines qualify for the policy. At this time, the
CDC only recognizes the Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson jabs, while the World
Health Organization has also approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Serum, Sinopharm, and Sinovac shots.

ECA’s view: ECA board chair Hervé Sedky, President and CEO of Emerald, issued the following statement
in response to the Biden administration’s announcement.

“The members of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance applaud today’s announcement by the Biden
administration and appreciate the administration’s support of the economy as small businesses across
the U.S. rely on our industry to recover. International exhibitors and attendees are critical to the success
of the thousands of conferences and trade shows held in the United States each year. Allowing those
who are vaccinated back into the U.S. is an important step in the recovery of our industry and will help
us get our stakeholders safely back to business and back to work nationwide.”

ECA will continue to monitor this important issue and keep the industry apprised of further developments.

By NBA.com

The NBA Los Angeles Clippers and Intuit Inc., a global technology platform that makes TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma and Mint, announced that they have entered a 23-year strategic partnership. Intuit is the exclusive naming rights partner of the Intuit Dome, the future home of the Clippers, which is scheduled to open in Inglewood, California for the 2024-2025 NBA season. The Intuit Dome will deliver an innovative fan and consumer experience, and it will become a hub for programs that power economic prosperity and benefit the community.

“When we began the search for a partner for the LA Clippers and our new dome, we looked for one that shares our passion for technology, the pursuit of innovation and our commitment to customers, fans and community,” said Steve Ballmer, LA Clippers Chairman. “Intuit is a perfect fit and we’re excited to be calling our future home the Intuit Dome.”

“Intuit and the Clippers are mission-driven organizations that share the common goal of putting their customers and fans first. We both have a focus on creating extraordinary experiences enabled by innovative technology,” said Sasan Goodarzi, Intuit Chief Executive Officer. “The Intuit Dome will reflect Intuit’s focus on innovation to deliver best-in-class products and services including TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint and Credit Karma to help our customers achieve their financial goals. Intuit and the Clippers have a history of supporting local communities, and we look forward to investing in and contributing to the Inglewood community to help them prosper.”

Through this partnership, Intuit and the Clippers will create new programs to reinvigorate the local economy and local businesses that create jobs, enable job readiness, and educate entrepreneurs to help them better run their businesses and transform their financial lives.

As a function of the partnership, Intuit has committed to:

Expand Intuit’s Prosperity Hub School District program, which empowers the next generation of students to learn about finances and entrepreneurship, in the LA area. Intuit will commit an additional $1 million over the next three years to underserved school districts that are part of the program to make a long-term impact on the local economy. This follows Intuit’s recent donation to the Los Angeles Unified School District in July 2021.

Provide taxpayer assistance events to prepare and file taxes for low-income families in the area free of charge during tax season.

Host educational events where local entrepreneurs and small business owners including women or minority-owned businesses can leverage workshops, networking, tools, education, and tips on how to start, build, and grow a small business.

The Clippers have committed to the City of Inglewood the largest community benefits package ever associated with an arena, generating an estimated $260 million in annual economic activity.

Intuit Dome has been designed to create an intimate and intense fan experience through features such as “The Wall,” which is comprised of 51 uninterrupted rows of seats that include a dedicated supporters section; a two-sided halo scoreboard encircling the bowl with an acre of LED lighting; and an 80,000 square foot outdoor plaza, surrounding a full-size outdoor court. Technological advancements within Intuit Dome will allow for frictionless concession stands, enabling fans to spend more time in their seats.

By Sodexo Newsroom

The Sodexo Group reaffirmed its ambition in the world of sports, events and hospitality and created a unique global brand Sodexo Live! to unify and leverage all of the Group expertise across the world in this sector.

With this brand creation, Sodexo reaffirms its confidence in this market and its potential for rebound. There is an appetite in the market for people to foster in-person connections, as confirmed by the September 2021 study conducted by Harris Interactive for Sodexo Live! across the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Spain.

80% of respondents feel comfortable attending sports, cultural or professional events again (increase of +20 points compared to September 2020)

Convinced of the strong rebound potential of the live sector, Nathalie Bellon-Szabo, CEO Worldwide of Sodexo Live!, explains the brand’s strategic choices in terms of international conquest, priority business segments and new services to offer clients.

“Today is a major milestone for us. Sodexo Live! is the affirmation of a new ambition, as we bring together our expertise related to sports, events and hospitality under a unified global brand. More than ever, I am convinced that fans and guests worldwide are looking to find common links and embrace the human bond that comes from being there live. With this launch, we reaffirm to our clients that we are the preferred partner to face the future with, and that we believe steadfastly in our 40,000 employees around the world to offer them world-class, creative, value-generating services.”

Sodexo Live! Creating irreplaceable emotional connections

The excitement of a game, the buzz of in-person networking at an industry conference, or a family outing in a museum are all opportunities to live extraordinary moments and create unforgettable memories. With a unique expertise acquired over 20 years around the world, Sodexo Live! offers clients its know-how in hospitality and culinary excellence to create tailor-made offers and transfix places and events.

Live! itself is a universal word full of positive energy. This word is the link between all the activities of the brand and a tribute to the dynamism and creativity of its teams. The new brand benefits from the strength of the Sodexo Group, its values and its commitments to all stakeholders: clients, consumers, partners and internal teams.

Sodexo Live! Accelerating in a high-potential market

Since the creation of a dedicated business for the sports and entertainment sector, Sodexo has garnered strong returns, reaching a revenue of €1.7B in FY2019, before the Covid crisis. The return of face-to-face, in-person events presents an exciting amount of demand in what is a structurally growing market. In order to fully accelerate in this active market, the Sodexo Live! brand will be based on these three foundational pillars:

A region-specific strategy to grow global presence

Sodexo Live! will consolidate its presence in its top three markets – North America, France and the UK – and accelerate its growth in Spain and APAC, two markets in high demand for these services.

Acute focus on priority business segments

Sodexo Live! will continue to deploy its expertise in major venues and events in order to reveal their full potential and enrich the live experience of their audiences.

Stadiums and Arenas: Sodexo Live! will continue to welcome fans to the largest, most recognizable stadiums around the world as in France’s Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais and Stade de France, Everton FC in the United Kingdom, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, or T-Mobile Park in Seattle

Conference and Convention Centers: Sodexo Live! will offer services for professional and personal events, ranging from catering to the marketing and sales of the sites. The brand is present in more than 30 convention centers in North America, including the Las Vegas Convention Center, Orange County Convention Center and San Diego Convention Center

Global Events: Sodexo Live! designs and markets tailor-made hospitality packages and catering for major international events such as the Rugby World Cup (five editions), the Tour de France (for 30 years), the Super Bowl (15 times) and the French Open (for 20 years)

Cultural Destinations: From the Eiffel Tower to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, or the Museo del Prado in Spain and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, these destinations entrust Sodexo Live! to enrich the experience of their visitors by capitalizing on its culinary arts and its excellent service.

Airport Lounges: Sodexo Live! welcomes travelers to over 170 lounges around the world, including those of Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Cathay Pacific and Airport Dimensions.