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– We sat like lighted candles in front of the television. It was like a soccer match between Norway and Brazil, but then you find out that the referee is a volleyball referee, Jan Fredrik Karlsen tells Dagbladet.
Karlsen runs the All-In AS event agency. He and the rest of the company had high hopes ahead of yesterday’s press conference in which Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø would present new crisis packages.
– The Minister of Commerce and Industry uses words like “the so-called event industry” and says that infection control measures are not the reason the industry is fighting. It’s endlessly rude and ignorant, especially after all the time we’ve spent explaining what we are and do to them, Jan Fredrik Karlsen tells Dagbladet.
Bankruptcy notices: – It is urgent
– Equal respect
The events industry was placed together with tourism in a joint support scheme, although it was suggested that they would get theirs.
Karlsen emphasizes that he understands that the situation is demanding and appreciates that the government will compensate the industry for part of the financial loss it has suffered, but believes that the scheme is a sign that the government does not yet understand what its industry needs.
Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø says she is aware that the events industry is a major player.
– I can assure Jan Fredrik Karlsen that I have as much respect for the events industry as for all other parts of the Norwegian business. I am also fully aware of the importance of actors such as event agencies and technical stage providers for the event market, Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø tells Dagbladet.
Risks of being unemployed
Disappointing
Jan Fredrik Karlsen is supported by Janette Haukland, General Manager of the Association of Sponsors and Events. She believes that the measures put forward by the government do not help the events industry much.
In the new public events support scheme, the government will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to plan large long-term events, despite financial challenges.
– This sounds good, but it only applies to public events, not business events and only the organizer can request it What the government forgets is that it is not possible to organize a trade fair, festival or event without subcontractors, Haukland tells Dagbladet .
Haukland fears that the industry will experience a great deal of experience.
– Without significantly better long-term compensation, the government will face massive bankruptcies and they have already started to enroll. The losses will be catastrophic. We’re talking about thousands of jobs across the country and this will drastically affect an entire business chain, says Haukland.
Without faith
The event market can also apply for the NOK 1 billion tourism compensation plan and the NOK 250 million restructuring money through Innovation Norway. Haukland doesn’t think the events industry gets any of this.
– We have no faith that so much of this package remains. Tourism has needed it for itself. We expected a separate scheme, based on the contribution we have had to the government. Therefore, it is disappointing that they push us towards tourism. This brings us to many limitations, he says.
Iselin Nybø says this is not the case.
– The government now grants event agencies and other players in the events market access to support schemes originally reserved for the tourism industry. However, the fact that various 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, he says.
– Cheated
Could have been easier
Haukland believes that the government could solve this in a much simpler way.
– Expanding the contact support scheme, which means that the state covers 100 percent of the fixed costs of the companies and a salary support scheme that is significantly better than the current one, so that we can get people back to work, he says.
– And remove restrictions with open events and make sure the organizer and supplier can apply, then the events industry could have come out of this crisis unscathed, continues Haukland.
Prohibited
– Absolute disaster
Jan Fredrik Karlsen says his company lost NOK 80 million overnight when the pandemic hit Norway. Emphasize that a support plan is not about getting as much money as possible, but about surviving.
– What we do is prohibited and customers are afraid to start an event. We can’t do our job because of infection control. There is no change in that. We have lost hundreds of millions of crowns. Our attitude has always been that we shouldn’t be greedy, but we want an arrangement that works. We’re just asking for a little help, says Karlsen.
The events industry has proposed to the government that a certain percentage of last year’s turnover be found to make up for the loss suffered by the industry.
– If we had a turnover of 50 million in 2019, then it could have taken ten percent and got five million this year. That would cover part of what we’ve lost, he says. It’s simple, verifiable, and efficient, says Karlsen.
He hopes that the Minister of Commerce and Industry will take the time to meet with the industry for an explanatory meeting.
– We like to meet physically, the best meetings are usually that, he says and laughs.
Same challenges
Nybø says the government has chosen a common solution because the challenges in the tourism and events market are many of the same.
– Infection control measures and fear of infection result in a massive decline in demand, indefinitely. Events and tourism companies therefore need a supply of liquidity, and we offer it to them through these two compensation and restructuring schemes, he says.
– This is in addition to other measures for the business community that the events industry can also use, such as the loan guarantee scheme, the salary support scheme and an expanded regulation on redundancies, Nybø continues.
She says that the government proposes to continue covering part of the fixed costs for the organizers of fairs and conferences and other key players in the market, because the turnover is still very low in the event market.
