London: Britain's event organisers, venues and suppliers warned that about 30,000 jobs are at risk due to increased uncertainty about when trade fairs and exhibitions could resume in the UK.
The Events Industry Alliance (EIA) said companies would need at least eight to 12 weeks to restart exhibitions, calling on the government to set a date for reopening. The coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing lockdown led to widespread cancellations and postponement of events to later this year or until 2021.
The threat of a second wave of COVID-19 cases triggered further uncertainty about reopening plans worldwide.
"The exhibitions sector is a vital enabler of economic activity in almost every sector of the UK economy and failure to provide a go-live date impacts the ability of almost 180,000 businesses to recover," said Chris Skeith, CEO, Association of Event Organisers.
An estimated 60 per cent of the sector's supply chain will not reopen in October, when the government's job-supporting furlough scheme ends, the EIA added.
Earlier this month, the ministry also promised an additional 30 billion pounds to head off an unemployment crisis, funnelling money to employers, homebuyers and beleaguered hospitality firms to drive a recovery.
Informa, the world's biggest exhibitions organiser, held its first major event, the China Beauty Expo, in Shanghai this month.
