Lancashire Cricket and its Emirates Old Trafford ground have launched a campaign aimed at sharing the knowledge and best practice gained from hosting behind-closed-doors Test Matches with the wider events industry.
Fresh from staging the Second and Third Test match this week between England and the West Indies – the first International cricket fixtures to be played since the Coronavirus pandemic – Emirates Old Trafford has unveiled ‘Safe in One Place’, a new initiative that highlights the measures required to host events, in line with current Government guidelines.
Following the announcement by Boris Johnson that business events, conferences and exhibitions will be given the go ahead to reopen on October 1, and in recognition of the impact COVID-19 has had on the £70bn UK events industry, Emirates Old Trafford is releasing guidance publicly showing how the venue have taken learnings from the bio-secure environment that enabled them together with the ECB to safely host 300 people across the venue, including players, staff and media, on-site for behind-closed-doors Test cricket.
A document outlining key learnings and best practice is now available for download via the Emirates Old Trafford website.
The guidance includes the very latest practical information to ensure event organisers and venue operators in the UK understand how they can work and host business events and conferences, while keeping both guests and staff safe.
The Emirates Old Trafford website and social media channels will also display a range of content over the coming days aimed at arming event professionals with the key insights and practical learnings. This includes behind-the-scenes venue footage, infographics, case studies and interviews featuring a host of staff members and stakeholders that played crucial roles in the rigorous risk assessments and re-writing of operational procedures that enabled the venue meet Government standards and host International cricket.
In a further step, Emirates Old Trafford will host a virtual roundtable with a panel of leading industry figures that is free for event professionals across the UK and beyond to join.
The session will take place on Friday 7 August at 15:30 BST and will feature representatives from Emirates Old Trafford, Marketing Manchester and Xperiology as well as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
For more information, and to register your interest, please visit https://emiratesoldtrafford.lancashirecricket.co.uk/webinar-signup/
Lancashire Cricket Chief Executive, Daniel Gidney, said: “The Safe in One Place campaign is all about sharing the knowledge and experience that we’ve gained turning Emirates Old Trafford into bio-secure environment with the wider events industry. What we are doing at the moment with behind-closed-doors cricket and working in conjunction with the ECB is industry-leading and this has provided us with a blueprint to move forwards and understand what events will look like in the future. We are effectively currently the only large events venue in the country that is operating and have developed strong operational discipline.
“Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford are committed to doing all we can to help lead the way back for the industry. As a world-class venue that hosts many non-cricket events, we understand acutely just how hard the market has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic and how vital it is to have clear guidance to enable the hosting of commercial events, which are the lifeblood of the industry.
“We appreciate the responsibility that all venue owners and operators have in ensuring the safety of event attendees and hope that the information we are making available today, and in the coming weeks, will prove valuable as we all prepare to safely welcome guests back to our destinations. Manchester, and many other towns and cities across the UK, rely heavily on events to underpin their local economy and employment, the sooner the industry is able to restart the more jobs and business can be saved in our local communities.”
Emirates Old Trafford will be providing regular updates on the procedures and protocols implemented ahead of the venue reopening for non-cricket events on October 1. Please visit emiratesoldtrafford.lancashirecricket.co.uk for further information or email events@lancashirecricket.co.uk.
