As seen on screen: the rise of the virtual event
Lockdown has meant every sector has needed to look at things differently. From festivals to fitness classes, exhibitions to performance and round table discussion, the virtual world has played a huge part in the way we’ve continued to connect. Here we look at the impact of virtual events, the benefits and whether they’re here to stay.
From virtual workouts to virtual festivals. Photo credit, left: BBC/Comic Relief/Children in Need
Accessibility, reimagined
At the beginning of March would anyone have thought that over 900,000 families from all over the world would soon be tuning in to do P.E. with Joe, from home, every Monday to Friday? Or that The Financial Times would be opening up a Global Boardroom, gathering together leading minds in policy, business, tech and finance for three days of online conversation, joined by 52,000 attendees from the comfort of their own homes? And how about Lost Horizon, the world’s biggest music and arts festival in virtual reality, brought to you by the team behind Glastonbury’s Shangri-La last weekend? Those who grabbed a free ticket were treated to two days, four stages and performances from the likes of Fatboy Slim and Carl Cox.
Well, whether you love or loathe online experiences, there’s one thing that can’t be denied; a half decent internet connection opens up possibilities to more and more of us wherever we happen to live - and that’s something many brands will be eager to continue, as we emerge from lockdown.
The sustainability impact
It’s not just accessibility either. Sustainability is a clear benefit too. Hosting a physical event means people getting to and from a location and that’s before you’ve factored in utilities, the generation of waste and any accommodation. As a study from Birmingham University outlined, a one-day physical event can produce up to 170kg of Co2 and create over 5 tonnes of refuse waste so when we do things virtually, we definitely do our bit for the planet at the same time. For brands looking to reduce their carbon footprint and increase their sustainability credentials, keeping things virtual is certainly a step in the right direction.
Raising funds through virtual gigs is on the rise. Photo credit: Naomi House and Jacksplace
Money saving & money raising
Whether we’re talking large or small online events, virtual hosting is definitely good for the wallet. With no venue, catering or insurance costs, in many ways it’s a no-brainer and during lockdown, we’ve not only seen savings by shifting things online, there’s also been money raising too! So many fantastic initiatives have taken place virtually, with people thinking differently about ways to support international, national and local charities. From virtual book clubs raising money for Mind, to a Hampshire-based children’s hospice running online charity gigs and raising £11,000 in the process, virtual events have seen the rise of a powerful new way of fundraising over the past few months, which certainly looks set to continue.
Taking the arts online, from Glastonbury festival to the Tate Modern.
It’s been emotional
More people can get through the virtual door and there’s no denying the sustainability impact or money saving benefits, but what about the quality of the experience? You can head to the Tate Modern online to see the latest Andy Warhol exhibition, but there’s nothing like sitting in front of a painting in a real-life gallery, is there? Seeing every brush stroke, every nuance as the artist intended, and making an emotional connection with the work.
And let’s take a festival, a business event or a show. Isn’t it about real, shared experience? The times you lose yourself at a smaller stage away from the headliners, or have a random conversation in the early hours with someone you’ve just met, or grab a coffee and bump in to someone for a chat about a workshop you’ve both been part of? Can all of this really be achieved on your laptop, with a cuppa at the kitchen table? Of course, the answer is it’s a different experience.
Artist, Luminara Star, recently curated her first virtual exhibition as part of the Bath Arts Fringe Festival, which went ahead online due to Covid-19, and although there was the challenge of bringing artists together virtually and keeping up momentum for online visitors, she felt the experience was one which people were still able to genuinely connect with.
“It’s about thinking differently, adding something new every day to keep people coming back and creating workshops online that still bring people together around a creative goal”.
And talking of bringing people together, we only have to look at Glastonbury 2020 to see that although the festival couldn’t go ahead, the emotional connection with past performances as well as with activities happening online in real time, was incredibly strong. There was a real sense of community on social media, with people sharing memories and reinventing the festival in their own gardens and as Emily Eavis said on Twitter:
“For a year without a festival, it really was our biggest gathering yet... Over 10 million people tuned in”.
More and more events are looking to create this human connection too. As well as music, the Lost Horizon festival last weekend had 250 visual art pieces for virtual visitors to experience, based on the very theme of human connection in response to the global pandemic.
And it’s not just the arts. If you’re a runner missing the competitive element of a real-life race, the iRace Live Virtual 10km on July 5 aimed to plug the emotional gap. The free-to-enter socially-distanced event saw both elite and recreational runners waiting on their own individual start lines at the same time of 10am. Runners tracking themselves on their phones appeared on a live leaderboard so spectators could watch the race unfold, and runners could also see any motivational messages posted to them by supporters.
Although online events can never inspire emotion in the same way as real life, strong human connections can still be made if virtual events are curated or organised with that purpose at the heart of them.
Turning up the tech
At the start of lockdown we were all laughing at our first Zoom experiences... the frozen screens, multicoloured backdrops and the dog getting in to shot, but when it comes to the business of virtual events, technology has come a long way as Jennifer Best, writing in Forbes, explains:
“The rise of holographics, virtual reality, social media livestreaming and simulated conference applications have already been transforming the event industry outside of the convention center. The virtual conference where i recently presented featured not only multiple session rooms to visit, but also a virtual lounge for networking and virtual booths that avatar-designed attendees could visit, ask questions and get more information. Today’s virtual event technology is making the event experience a lot more like attending a live event, without the added expense or health risk involved”.
And something we’ve been considering is whether they can encourage greater interaction too. At a recent event we were part of, we certainly saw more questions being asked online than would ever have been shared in real life. This is backed up by Workcast’s findings too. They say 30% of us are more likely to speak to a person in a virtual booth because people are often too nervous to approach someone at an event, or they just enjoy the anonymity. They say virtual events offering tools such as polls, Q&A and live chat definitely ramp up the interaction.
Looking to the future
With venues starting to reopen and social distancing measures in place, will it mean the gradual end of virtual events? Our take is they’re here to stay, as even as lockdown eases it’s a question of choice. It’s about making sure people can attend events in the way they want to in the future, and with many people cautious about safety, gatherings that can combine the best of both worlds are going to become increasingly important for brands, planners and organisers looking for even greater reach.