Corona Virus - Should we be worried?

[thewayiam]

That's also a non profit festival in the same vein as Glastonbury, I won't be surprised given the array of international people that will have got tickets if a cancellation is chosen.

[eFestivals]

1 minute ago, thewayiam said:

That's also a non profit festival in the same vein as Glastonbury, I won't be surprised given the array of international people that will have got tickets if a cancellation is chosen.

it can't get insurance. Any festival that hung back on buying insurance will be in the same position - and i'm sure there's going to be some, as making the finances work is often a struggle.

[thewayiam]

3 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

it can't get insurance. Any festival that hung back on buying insurance will be in the same position - and i'm sure there's going to be some, as making the finances work is often a struggle.

I know, surely Glastonbury is in a similar position?, don't they struggle to break even etc most years as it costs even more to book acts now?. Are they a festival that can afford insurance.

[eFestivals]

1 minute ago, thewayiam said:

I know, surely Glastonbury is in a similar position?, don't they struggle to break even etc most years as it costs even more to book acts now?. Are they a festival that can afford insurance.

Glastonbury is fairly reasonably financially secure, I think, so is likely to have bought insurance as soon as they started to clock up costs for this year - but whether their insurance covers pandemics, who knows? The insurance for SXSW doesn't include pandemics, so that's probably now fucked. 

Most smaller festivals struggle to make the finances work every year, and have to manage their cashflow and perhaps cut corners to make everything work. There's likely to be some UK festivals that haven't bought insurance - and who now won't be able to get it.

[zahidf]

6 minutes ago, thewayiam said:

I know, surely Glastonbury is in a similar position?, don't they struggle to break even etc most years as it costs even more to book acts now?. Are they a festival that can afford insurance.

After the issues around foot and mouth/swine flu a few years ago, I would suspect glasto has the proper insurance.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

10 minutes ago, thewayiam said:

I know, surely Glastonbury is in a similar position?, don't they struggle to break even etc most years as it costs even more to book acts now?. Are they a festival that can afford insurance.

It’s not a village fete, it’s the biggest festival in the world, televised on bbc. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[Havors]

2 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

It’s not a village fete, it’s the biggest festival on the world, televised on bbc. 

He's a troll. 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

5 hours ago, Havors said:

Obviously they cant cancel everything indefinitely and I get what you are saying. Large mass events such as sporting events and festivals are not vital to the economy... shops, schools small businesses that dont have mass gatherings are. Mass gatherings are likely to be restricted longer than anything else. 

Yes as far as Glasto (and other festivals) go it is all down to timing... it is not a matter of IF but WHEN large events and mass gatherings are cancelled or restricted. We are nowhere near peak outbreak in the UK, the numbers will get much higher before things get better. 

There were reports coming from an inside source at Liverpool yesterday that it is almost certain that their game against Palace on 21st March will be behind closed doors... and that was coming from the Premier League. 

I do really hope that the restrictions come soon and we can get out the other side of this well before Glasto at the end of June! There is hope, but it is most definitely touch and go. 

Economies/GDP are fragile things. How often do you hear about GDP figures being affected because it was a bit too cold, or it rained too much? Festivals and sporting events are not vital to the economy on a one off basis, but cancel them for long enough and they certainly would be. Think about Glastonbury in isolation and how much everyone spends in relation to it, then extrapolate that over every other event for a long enough period and that is serious amount of money not going into the economy. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[Havors]

1 minute ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Economies/GDP are fragile things. How often do you hear about GDP figures being affected because it was a bit too cold, or it rained too much? Festivals and sporting events are not vital to the economy on a one off basis, but cancel them for long enough and they certainly would be. Think about Glastonbury in isolation and how much everyone spends in relation to it, then extrapolate that over every other event for a long enough period and that is serious amount of money not going into the economy. 

Not sure what your point is? haha 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

1 minute ago, Havors said:

Not sure what your point is? haha 

Well you're saying festivals and sporting events are not vital to the economy, I’m saying if you cancel them for long enough then that would still have a massive negative impact on the economy.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[grilladelphia]

10 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Well you're saying festivals and sporting events are not vital to the economy, I’m saying if you cancel them for long enough then that would still have a massive negative impact on the economy.

im sure someone can correct me if wrong but doesn't each glasto pull about £70M into the economy?

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

With regards to people being worried that the government will propose certain measures just to be seen to be doing something this is taken directly from the BBC:

The Cobra meeting is expected to consider whether the UK should officially move into the "delay" phase.

The government has previously said "social distancing" measures to slow the spread of the virus could include a ban on sporting events and other large gatherings, and encouraging people to work from home rather than use crowded trains and buses.

Such a step would require agreement from chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, who are due to be at the meeting.

So according to this any such measures need to approval of the two people who are saying they aren’t necessary, so hopefully this means rational thinking will prevail. And by that I mean hopefully the right decision prevails irrespective of what that is, of the expert advice is to start cancelling things then so be it.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[thewayiam]

23 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

Glastonbury is fairly reasonably financially secure, I think, so is likely to have bought insurance as soon as they started to clock up costs for this year - but whether their insurance covers pandemics, who knows? The insurance for SXSW doesn't include pandemics, so that's probably now fucked. 

Most smaller festivals struggle to make the finances work every year, and have to manage their cashflow and perhaps cut corners to make everything work. There's likely to be some UK festivals that haven't bought insurance - and who now won't be able to get it.

I'm shocked by that as SXSW is a going back years now major festival that isn't a cheap do. A festival that size clearly didn't feel it needed it.

20 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

It’s not a village fete, it’s the biggest festival in the world, televised on bbc. 

And SXSW is a small do.....do some research.

18 minutes ago, Havors said:

He's a troll. 

A troll?, you fucking idiot.

[whitehorses]

6 minutes ago, grilladelphia said:

im sure someone can correct me if wrong but doesn't each glasto pull about £70M into the economy?

I think it’s more, but can’t find where I read that. 
 

Edit: Sorry for such a crap comment, I shouldn’t have bothered! 😹

Edited March 9, 2020 by whitehorses

[grilladelphia]

6 minutes ago, whitehorses said:

I think it’s more, but can’t find where I read that. 

some nice numbers from the Glastonbury website:

A 2007 survey revealed that Glastonbury Festival impacts on the worldwide economy to the tune of more than £73million.

The figure was one of dozens featured in a report by Mendip District Council on the economic impact of the Somerset event.

This was the first study of its kind to be undertaken on the Festival, which was carried out by Bristol-based Baker Associates.

Its aim was to fully understand the economic effects of Glastonbury and help to support the planning of future years.

John Baker from Baker Associates said: “We were commissioned by Mendip District Council and Glastonbury Festivals to carry out the study, which is one of the first to focus on the overall economic impact of the Festival, and to improve understanding of its impacts on various areas of the local and regional economy. The study also reports on other areas that are linked to its impact on the economy, and how these issues can be looked at in the future to further build on the economic benefits that the Glastonbury Festival could bring to Mendip.”

The report gives the first detailed insight into the Festival – the largest of its kind in the UK – including the £73m gross impact it has on the UK and international economies.

The following points are just an insight into some of the figures revealed through the report:

* A crowd of 177,500 people attended the Glastonbury Festival in 2007, with an average spend per person of £293.24.
* Total spending at the Festival site in Pilton by revellers and traders was about £25.6million, and off-site spend was about £26.5million, giving a total spend of about £52million directly linked to the Festival.
* Estimated spending by Glastonbury Festivals associated with staging the 2007 Festival was £21.2million (over the period November 2006 to October 2007).
* Therefore the gross spend linked to the 2007 Glastonbury Festivals (including the Glastonbury Extravaganza and the Equinox ‘Pilton’ Party) was more than £73million.

Speaking at the press conference, held in Pilton’s Working Men’s Club, Cllr Harvey Siggs, leader of Mendip District Council, said: “We noticed in the year that we didn’t have a Festival that there was an economic impact in the area. So we decided last year to quantify the benefits. The report shows clearly the ripple effect from the local area right around the country.”

Dick Vernon, Trading Manager for Glastonbury Festival, added: “We’ve always said that the Festival had a big economic impact but we’ve never been able to prove it. Now we have an independent group who have come up with some staggering figures.”

Summing up proceedings, Michael Eavis said: “You only have to drive around Pilton to see the benefits. We’ve spent £880,000 on the village hall and built 18 houses, and we’d like to do a lot more.”

[Reckoner]

2 hours ago, Havors said:

Events going ahead now has no bearing on what the measures will be in a couple of weeks time.

This is true, but the UK is also not going through this in isolation. You're weeks behind on the  timeline compared to Australia and Singapore (the places i'm most familiar with).  The Health departments in Australia and the UK have been producing somewhat similar advice and we're showing no appetite to cancel events. Singapore is well past the  panic/shut it all down stage and mostly back to normal albeit with some caution like temperature checking.

Just trying to provide some perspective and counter the general feeling that every day is going to be worse than the one before until  everyone has self isolated, the streets are empty and everything has been cancelled. It will for a bit, and then it will slow, then it will probably jump again when someone ignores the health advice and removes themselves from isolation and goes to the cinema because they are bored. The UK have good people providing advice and their bad people are at least listening to them at the moment. 

 

[whitehorses]

@grilladelphiathanks! Must’ve risen by 50% since then, do you think? 

[eFestivals]

24 minutes ago, grilladelphia said:

im sure someone can correct me if wrong but doesn't each glasto pull about £70M into the economy?

mostly tho it's 'displacement' economic activity - because if people weren't doing Glasto they'd be doing something else instead.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

1 minute ago, eFestivals said:

mostly tho it's 'displacement' economic activity - because if people weren't doing Glasto they'd be doing something else instead.

Unless we’re all in lockdown in our homes 

[squirrelarmy]

2 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

mostly tho it's 'displacement' economic activity - because if people weren't doing Glasto they'd be doing something else instead.

If I’m not going to Glastonbury then I’ll probably be going to Sziget in Budapest instead. My money won’t be getting spent in the UK economy. 

[Mr.Tease]

Man, 2020 is off to a bleak start- thumping Tory majority, hard brexit, storms, floods, Virus and now economic crisis/recession- and that's before we even get to the economic hit of a hard brexit next January😵

[squirrelarmy]

1 minute ago, Mr.Tease said:

Man, 2020 is off to a bleak start- thumping Tory majority, hard brexit, storms, floods, Virus and now economic crisis/recession- and that's before we even get to the economic hit of a hard brexit next January😵

Don’t worry most Tory voters are going to be wiped out by Corona. The next vote will go better 

[st dan]

It’s a ‘lose lose’ for the government in any situation - they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t with regards to the cancelling of large scale events etc. 

On one hand it could be seen as a unnecessary overreaction to at this time given the relatively small outbreak in the UK at present, but there would be mass outrage/hysteria/dismay if these continue to go ahead, and the virus really does begin the spread uncontrollably. It won’t only be those who attend that these events that will be impacted - the knock on effect is the key issue.    

If we’re being totally honest here, it would probably be best to err on the side of caution in the immediate future for the safety of the general public. Hopefully that will lead to a delay/containment and the situation can then be reassessed in the coming months, and fingers crossed Glastonbury will be fine. Although ultimately the safety of others needs to be at the forefront of any decision made, regardless of all else. 

[jimmillen]

5 minutes ago, squirrelarmy said:

Don’t worry most Tory voters are going to be wiped out by Corona. The next vote will go better 

I can understand the sentiment, but pretty distasteful none the less. Very slippery slope if you’re happy about the deaths of those whose political views you disagree with. 

[squirrelarmy]

Just now, jimmillen said:

I can understand the sentiment, but pretty distasteful none the less. Very slippery slope if you’re happy about the deaths of those whose political views you disagree with. 

Have a look at the majority of my posts in this thread. It’s mainly light humour trying to spread a touch of positivity. Don’t take things so seriously!