What’s In Store for 2020 and Beyond…

Hopefully everyone has had a break and is ready to take on 2020 with a vengeance, it is the start of a new decade!

Looking back at the last decade in events, so much has changed, come to light and refocused.

So, what will happen this decade?

Where will we be looking in 2030? What will be hot, change and come to the fore over the next 10 years. Only time will tell.

What is looking hot for 2020? What are the trends? And what’s in focus?

The number one focus for 2020 is green sustainability. We have seen a massive change in events over the last few years around green events and making them more sustainable and less wasteful. Such organisations as Oz Harvest have literally changed the way we deal with events from a waste perspective. Using refill water stations, the use of LED lighting and the massive reduction in paper waste has also changed within the event space. But what are we going to be doing moving forward in order to further sustainability?

Will catering companies step up, using only seasonal produce, wild caught fish and focusing on domestic produce? Will event producers insist on carbon offsetting with their clients? All stuff we scoffed at 10 years ago and now are all reasonable outcomes.

As an industry we chug through waste. Weeks of prep, sometimes for 4 hours of show and then dumped. How can we change this to lessen the waste from events?

I do believe we all have a responsibility to change the way we do our events to include sustainability and more green practice. Even if it’s something as small as a commitment to using 50% less paper on an event. It all helps. So, start here, start now!

Entertainment has changed. Over the last decade we have seen a trend away from themed entertainment at events. Entertainment used to ‘run” the event. Events were built around entertainment and there seemed to be an air of more childlike fun. This has definitely changed over the last 10 years. Events are far more serious these days. They  focus more on Insta-pretty. The event is more about social media in some cases, than about being onsite experiential.

There is much less use of entertainment and it’s usually the first thing cut from budget.

There is also much less a sense of play in events nowadays. I think that is something missing that needs to be recaptured. I sense a jadedness from audiences these days. We try to engage our audiences, but it’s all been done before and the events whilst beautiful can be sterile at times. It’s time to take the party back. It’s time to add back some play into events. More smiles!

It would be great to see entertainment used in a fun, engaging way. Bring back the altered realities. The silliness and lightness of events, rather than them being so serious. Let’s work with and push our performing suppliers to create new characters and shows that move, engage, thrill and entertain our guests and worry a little less about being so uber cool.

Colour trends are tough!

We are usually behind the US fashion world with our colours and styles; however we are usually ahead of them in our event styles.

We have seen everything pass through our events from monochromatic, to gold, from fluro to patterns. So, what’s hot for 2020?

According to Vogue, summer 2020 is back to fluro – yes I know! However, this time it’s fluro with detail. Lace, edging, and tassels. As Vogue put it – Go Glow!

I like the idea of using monochromes like black and dark silvers as the base and then using the fluro or glow to add “pop” to the palette. Using drapes, cushions and tassels to add the detail to the picture.

2020 Winter is looking like deep dark colours. Dark reds, ambers, bottle greens and dark blues to create dark, warm environments. I like that with lighter gold and silver to add highlights to the palette.

So, it looks like summer is “go wild” and winter is reserved and warm. Yep, nothing particularly new here, but fun all the same. Hopefully that has given you some food for thought as we power into the new decade.

Obviously, this is not everything and things may change, but it’s a starting point, so go forth and conquer the year and the next decade!  Happy eventing in 2020 everyone!!!!