2021 – The year for Virtual and Hybrid events?

Have the words ‘Virtual Event’ ever been used as much as now?

‘Hybrid Event’ is the latest phrase that we are all using, but what does it all mean?

Well, since COVID-19 joined our lives with such devastating effect the events industry has been hit very, very hard.

Do you remember the days when we used to go the NEC and enjoy a lovely day at the Spring fair exhibition? Or the dizzy heights of going to Wembley arena for a concert? Good times, good times indeed.

With everything closed the events industry has been thinking outside the box to try and put a smile on peoples faces during this challenging time. Lets not think its all done for the general public though, the promotions and events industry needs to survive so arranging events where performers come into your front room through technology is an opportunity for the industry to try and generate much needed revenue.

So, virtual and hybrid events, what’s available?

Virtual events for family entertainment while stuck at home

• Super Hero’s and children performers – Hire a super hero to connect with the children if they are having a lockdown birthday. A message and a little chat with Spiderman or a Princess is a great way to put a smile on the little faces.
• Zoom Santa – Very popular in December 2020 – Santa in your front room (on the ipad or laptop) to have personal one to one chat with the children.
• Virtual quiz night – Fed up with playing board games or Buzz? Having a virtual quiz host is a great way to spice things up a little and add a bit of fun to the evening. The quiz host will have all the questions and of course the personality to make it an entertaining evening.
• Cookery Classes – Great way to get the family involved with dinner. You can hire an experienced chef to talk you through all the steps of a 3 course banquet or maybe just a simple fun hot chocolate making session with the children.
• Virtual DJ’s – Have the family enjoy their own 80’s party! A virtual DJ can give your family a fantastic evening during lockdown playing all your favourite tracks for the family to enjoy.
• Live singers – Treat your family to their own live concert in the front room!
• At home wine tasting evening – A little treat and well deserved break for the adults.

Hybrid events for businesses

All staff are in need of a bit of motivation at the moment so hiring virtual performers for your business is a lovely way to keep the teams spirits high.
• Zoom call meetings – Liven up your next zoom call meeting and entertain the troops with a surprise visit from a virtual presenter, comedian, magician or Drag queen!
• Corporate Exercise Classes – Need to get the team moving and ready for a big day working at home? You can hire a virtual personal trainer to get the heart pumping.
• Virtual Hosts and presenters – Whether its for a virtual awards event or simply to host your next zoom meeting you can hire a professional presenter to help everything rum smoothly

Hybrid on line events have been happening throughout 2020 and with the uncertainty as we move into 2021 they are set to become more popular. Hybrid events were really a short term fix in 2020 but the need for communication from home is more important than ever and businesses want to communicate with their teams more professionally but with the added fun and games thrown in. There is a lot of software out there to enable hybrid and virtual events such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and many more are joining the on line communication platform party!

We all want the world to return to normal. We all want the time to come when we can visit an exhibition, go to an event or see your favourite band again but until that happens hybrid and virtual events will be the norm. Will it be a temporary fix or is it the way the events business will change? One thing is for sure, the events and promotions industry needs to get through and we applaud the initiative shown to offer different services to businesses and families to aid the survival of the industry.