Arbeidsliv, Jan Fredrik Karlsen | Jan Fredrik Karlsen approaches the government: – They put us on the table all the time.

– Our company works for the business community and creates conferences and business meetings. Now it is prohibited and we need funds to survive. We don’t want to take everything we can get from the funds and steal taxpayers’ money, but to make the company survive while we wait to get back to work, says Jan Fredrik Karlsen (47).

It has been three years since All-In’s inception, the event company as manager and former Idol judge Karlsen started together with his business partner Jens Nesse.

Hotel investor Petter Stordalen also owns 25 percent of the company’s shares, which generates income at conferences and meetings for the business community. At the beginning of the year, for example, the event agency hosted the Telia conference and the subsequent party for the employees.

But, like for many in the corporate world, 2020 has been a very dramatic one for Karlsen’s event agency. The latest reduction by the Oslo City Council from 200 to 50 people at indoor events is just one of several important news for the industry recently.

– There is no predictability and longevity in this, all the time the virus threatens. The customers are practically gone. And all this happens in accordance with the advice and requirements of the authorities. That is why we have reported requests for help. It won’t get any clearer than this, Karlsen says Monday night.

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Bottomless disappointment

Tensions were high when the government announced last week that there would be new crisis packages. There was talk in the halls that the events industry would have its own schemes, but Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø (V) encouraged the events industry to apply for funding from support measures for the tourism industry.

– I perceived, like many others in the industry, that there would be packages of specific measures for us in the events industry. We were incredibly excited and sat nervously in front of the television screen last week. It was like a soccer match between Norway and Brazil, but then you find out that they have sent a volleyball referee to judge the match. It was incredibly disappointing and we are in dire straits, says Karlsen.

As Nettavisen Økonomi wrote on Sunday, many in the industry fear for the future at a time when individuals and companies cannot host large meetings. All-In and Karlsen have lost 90 percent of their revenue since the shutdown in March and believe the government does not understand the seriousness of the situation for the industry.

– It seems to me, when they offer us support schemes together with the tourism industry, that they do not understand or want to understand. Or they think we are not in such a bad situation. It’s hard to judge when sitting from the outside, but it’s clear the government doesn’t understand the severity, says Karlsen, continuing:

– Saying that they help our industry by supporting open public events does not hit us. 19 of the 20 events we do are closed events for the business community. They put us in checkmate all the time.

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You can’t give birth until half a year after the pandemic ends

Today, the events industry can apply for compensation and restructuring schemes in tourism, as well as the loan guarantee scheme, the salary support scheme and an expanded layoff regulation.

Karlsen says he understands that the government, ministry and government are in a situation of pressure, but believes that it is urgent for the events industry, and that companies need better schemes to avoid big losses and bankruptcies.

– When everyday life returns, it will be between six and nine months before we can offer the events as before because the jobs have to be planned. What we have lost is one thing, but we must also have people working until society reopens. They must be able to work for more than half a year before we receive income for the work they have done. We must also pay our employees for the work they do. That is why we need the help of the authorities, says Karlsen.

Nybø: The cake won’t get smaller

Faced with the sigh of Karlsen’s heart, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Iselin Nybø (V), responds that she is fully aware of the importance that players, such as event agencies and technical stage providers, have for the market of events.

– I can assure Jan Fredrik Karlsen that I have as much respect for the event industry as for all other parts of the Norwegian business, Nybø tells Nettavisen Økonomi.

It emphasizes that the government now gives event agencies access to schemes intended for the tourism industry, and that this does not mean that event agencies receive less than if the industry had received its own schemes.

– However, the fact that several industries use the same schemes does not have to make them less favorable nor does it mean that “the pie will be smaller” for those involved, says Nybø.

The trade and industry minister says the reason industries have been given a common solution is that they have common problems: infection control measures and fear of infections cause massive decline in demand indefinitely .

– Many companies in Norway have suffered heavy losses due to the crown crisis. Turnover is still very low in the event market. That is precisely why the government now proposes to continue to cover part of the fixed costs for trade fair and conference organizers and other key players in this market, Nybø says.

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