By R.V. Baugus

For years hockey has kept fans in a safe place from flying pucks and flying players over the rink through the use of plexiglass. Also gives those cross-checking hits a more violent thud of a player into the plexiglass and of course fans love to bang on the glass to heckle the opposition.

All that comes to mind as I sat this past Monday night glued to the latest installment of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Monday Night Raw, which since the pandemic started and caused live events to shut down has still broadcast live from the company’s Performance Training Center in Orlando without fans.

Now, as you may suspect, professional wrestling has some of the most, um, vociferous fans there are. Everyone has their own favorite story about the elderly little grandmother seated in the first row berating the wrestling villain, right?

Well, eerie goes to another level watching a couple of guys grapple inside the squared circle with only a referee officiating the melee and no fans in the venue. You can literally hear the ref admonishing the wrestlers for those most illicit ring tactics as well as the trash-talking going on between the competitors.

That had been the norm for a few weeks until Monday night’s show had a handful of WWE’s “NXT” development wrestling stable present surrounding the ring behind barricades encircled by plexiglass. The same glass was on either side of the wrestlers’ entrance ramp as well.

Now, it appears that the plexiglass might be a solution for WWE going forward when fans are allowed to return ringside. If you watch any of WWE’s sports entertainment at all, you know that quite a bit of the action takes place outside the ring and around the ring perimeter. Heck, many a confrontation even goes up and down the aisles. If we are talking droplets of sweat and their impact upon COVID-19, it is easy to see wrestling as one of those places producing the most sweat, not to mention some occasional blood.

If in fact plexiglass is used in the future, it will serve in a powerful way to protect wrestlers and fans during entrances and matches.

As for the NXT wrestlers on hand, they stood in respective locations adhering for the most part to social distancing. Indeed, many a scenario needs to be worked out before arenas and stadiums resume sports and entertainment, but WWE might have found a solution that hockey has used for a long time.

By the way, ref, how can you possibly count to three when his foot was clearly on the rope?

Photo from wwe.com

By Mabel Hung

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (“HKCEC”) welcomed events back to Hong Kong on May 22-24. With a series of preventive measures in place, the HKCEC welcomed the city’s first exhibition since the COVID-19
pandemic. The 98th Hong Kong Wedding Fair, a three-day local consumer exhibition rescheduled from February, was held successfully and attracted soon-to-weds and couples for wedding products and services.

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (“HML”), the private management company responsible for daily operation of the venue, has stepped up preventive measures to ensure a safe, hygienic, and comfortable environment for exhibitors and visitors.

“HML is all set to welcome events back to the HKCEC,” said HML Managing Director Monica Lee-Muller. “The health, safety and well-being of staff members and visitors have always been our top priority. The HML team has been working closely with organizers to reschedule events impacted by the pandemic, and to implement necessary measures to address health and hygiene concerns. With the success of the Hong Kong Wedding Fair, we can demonstrate our commitment of providing professional services and customer care for event organizers
and attendees.“

The HML team cooperated with the organizer to implement special preventive measures in event arrangements, such as floor plan design, queuing logistics, F&B provision etc. All arrangements complied with the requirements imposed by the local authority, and made reference to industry guidelines and best practices.

All visitors, exhibitors, contractors, and HML staff members were required to wear face masks at all times and had their body temperature screened before entering the HKCEC. Social distance practicing was implemented at busy locations such as the Fair ticket counters, food and beverage outlets, and washrooms, where queues were expected.

Sanitation and disinfection were carried out by HML staff regularly to ensure venue hygiene. Public facilities and furniture such as escalator handrails, door knobs, lift panels, tables, and chairs in the exhibition stands, etc., were sanitised frequently. The exhibition hall was disinfected at the end of each show day.

To learn more about the preventive measures at the HKCEC in response to coronavirus, click here.

A video about HML’s measures to ensure venue hygiene and to safeguard the health of
event visitors may be found here.

Mabel Hung is Director – Communications & Sustainability for the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Top Photo: Temperature screening was required for all visitors, exhibitors, contractors and staff before entering the HKCEC.

Bottom Photo: Cleaning and disinfecting work was carried out by HML staff in event venues frequently.

By Mark Herrera

The reality of the event industry is one of unrelentingly disruptive change. This change is happening at an unprecedented pace. Venues of all types must successfully adapt and operate under a set of rules and expectations that are constantly in flux based on the current health crisis. The challenge of this disruption has posed an economical and physical risk but out of this we will see how resilient the industry is and embrace the growth opportunities.

IAVM, having significant influence in a global industry, has a civic duty to assure we provide safe, secure, and healthy environments within all public facilities where crowds assemble. We are an association with a mission to educate, advocate for, and inspire public assembly venue professionals, worldwide.

We are working collectively with all venue types, other organizations and associations to include suppliers, meeting planners, organizers and their respective leadership alongside the federal government and working groups tasked to gather data, poll the sectors, and conduct research as the industry moves toward recovery and identifying what the new “norm” will look like.

Event venues will follow medical and governmental guidance and not circumvent the science of any pandemic. All those working events will follow recovery written guides and remain flexible to assure all attendees to include event staff, suppliers, and planners are the top priority.

Top-line safety considerations for all venues are to allow healthy people to enjoy the facility and event; however, enhanced protective measures such as face coverings and hand washing stations will be more common. Managing the crowd density to assure that physical distancing guidelines are adhered to during ingress and egress will be heavily monitored with physical barriers strategically placed in areas where crowds can be controlled. High-touch surfaces will be identified and enhanced, and cleaning and sanitization will be part of the facility written protocols. Prior to attending all events messaging and communication with employees and guests to include signage on how to prevent the spread of germs will be a common practice. Facility design and touchless points of sale will be more common than before to avoid the transmission of any communicable disease.

IAVM has partnered with a Global Bio-risk advisory council considered as a division of one of the leading trade associations for the cleaning industry worldwide. Through this partnership all other venues can apply to a performance-based accreditation program that helps facilities demonstrate they have the work practices, procedures, and protocols to prepare, respond, and recover from outbreaks and pandemics as it pertains to deep cleaning and sanitization.

In conclusion, it is our goal to collectively come together and make every reasonable effort to provide a safe and healthy environment for those working or attending all events. Although there is no guarantee of a “zero risk” environment, we will continue to implement and measure a means to mitigate all risks associated with this health crisis and we will do it together.

As we move forward, events will not be date-driven and rather data-driven to assure we protect the most important asset, people.

Mark Herrera is Director of Education & Life Safety for IAVM. This article was published in smartmeetings.com.

By Kalyn Sisco

EventBooking, a cloud-based venue software company that serves over 1,000 clients worldwide, announced that they now have local representation in Europe.

To further expand EventBooking’s global footprint, President Steve Mackenzie believed it was the right time to spearhead more localized efforts in Europe, as the company did so last year in the Asia Pacific region. Tobias Lienhard and Jutta Kretzer are the appointed partners to do co—contributing to the sales, support, and implementation of VenueOps, EventBooking’s latest venue management application which debuted in 2017.

“I am absolutely delighted to announce a partnership in Europe with two incredibly talented former colleagues, Mr. Tobias Lienhard and Ms. Jutta Kretzer,” Mackenzie said. “Both have been in the venue industry for most of their careers and are a perfect fit for EventBooking. They both share our passion for providing the same top-notch service we offer in other parts of the world.”

Tobias will preside over sales efforts in the region, while Jutta will provide implementation and support services to clients. Both are based in Germany and speak multiple languages. EventBooking currently serves over 50 venues in the region, including the 02 (London), AccorHotels Hotel Arena (Paris), and Circuit Barcelona Catalunya (Barcelona).

In yet another step to better serve the international community, VenueOps will be available in German, French, and Spanish in just a few days. In regard to international security, EventBooking already offers hosting services in Europe via Amazon Web Services (AWS) so all data remains safe and secure.

Kalyn Sisco is Marketing Manager at EventBooking.

IAVM has been working hard with TwinLogic Strategies to ensure that the needs of our members are met under the CARES Act. Now, we need your help to voice your venue’s story to your congressional members. Our 7,000+ members, and the products and services that they provide, touch more than 300 million Americans annually. In order to bring the story of how the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected you, their their constituents”, we need you to reach out to those who have legislative decision-making powers and help drive the needs of our industry home.

To assist, IAVM is providing access to an Advocacy Toolkit. In this kit, you will find a general letter, which we encourage all members to send to their Senators and Representatives. You will also find social media post samples and call talking points, to help better guide you when making posts, or when you speak with your congressional members on the phone. Please take a moment and look over the toolkit and to help IAVM advocate for assistance in the recovery of our industry.

Find out more by clicking HERE