Unless you have been living in a cave, the extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic will have affected you this year. Pearce International has been no exception.
We were actually present at an event, the Six Day Manchester, when it was cancelled. With only hours to go, and 10 days before the UK official lockdown came into effect on 23 March, the Six Day team made the brave, and correct, decision to cancel the event and refund their ticket holders. The whole team had worked really hard to get everything ready, and then had to go straight into taking down and bumping out all that they had only just finished putting up and bumping in. It was a very peculiar feeling, to say the least. Six Day went on to cancel the Six Day London 2020 event at the start of September https://sixday.com/event-updates/
After this, on March 17th, the big international football tournament, EURO 2020, was postponed by a year. We were poised and ready, with Jayne to take on the Wembley role, but it was not to be. https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/025b-0ef35fa07210-adb80b5eb2e7-1000–uefa-postpones-euro-2020/
The uncertainty continued. The next event to postpone, was the Invictus Games, The Hague 2020, moving to a later date in 2021. Again, we were set to go: team assembled, work done, flights and accommodation booked. But no event to be held this year. https://invictusgamesfoundation.org/the-invictus-games-the-hague-2020-rescheduled/
At this point in time the Olympic Games was still holding firm, although the pressure was mounting. On the 24th March, one day after the UK went into lockdown, the biggest sporting event in the world postponed by a year; an unprecedented event in the 124 year history of the modern Olympic Games. https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/joint-statement-from-international-olympic-committee-and-tokyo2020. The Paralympic Games likewise had no logical option but to also postpone.
With no prospect of an Olympic Games this year, USATF cancelled their trials on the same day, which were to be held in Oregon at the same venue planned for the World Athletics Championships Oregon 2021. Another blow for Pearce International, who were engaged to advise and help deliver the media operations for this high profile US athletics event. https://www.usatf.org/news/2020/update-on-the-2020-u-s-olympic-team-trials-track-f
Once that happened, and with no end to the pandemic in sight, the remaining few dominoes toppled. The next event for us was the World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2021, which was postponed on April 8th until 2022, so as to avoid a clash with the rescheduled Tokyo dates. https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/dates-world-championships-oregon-2022
Our one remaining event to deliver this year was to be our only non-sport event, the Lord Mayor’s Show. This was cancelled on the 18th September, after some months of working on a changed format to allow a smaller, more COVID secure event to take place. Sadly, another event not to be, and one that hasn’t been cancelled since 1852. https://lordmayorsshow.london/
Like everyone else, we are greatly looking forward to things getting back to normal and to seeing these postponed events happen. We’ll enjoy them all the more when they do.
