The future of the event experience

The event landscape can be tough to predict. For example, no one could have determined the speed at which virtual and hybrid events have grown over the last few years. But, certain trends are a little easier to foresee.

We have spent some time looking at four changes that are likely to influence the event experience in the future, which you can discover below.

Global Events: Location & Accessibility

With the rise in virtual events and the increasing popularity of hybrid events, location is no longer a barrier to event attendance. Your attendees don’t have to be in the same country as each other, let alone the same continent. 

This can help improve event costs from both a planning and attendance point of view as there is less demand for venues, large-scale catering, plane tickets, hotel rooms… the list goes on!

With better capability and familiarity with virtual event platforms, the capacity to host hybrid events and a global desire to strengthen connections with each other, you can expect the future of the event experience to become an international one.

Digital tools available to the event industry

The rise in popularity of virtual events during the pandemic, and hybrid event trends that we are seeing now, enable a greater understanding of the tools available within the event industry.

We are already seeing how the use and increased accessibility of digital tools are impacting live event experiences, including virtual and hybrid events. The event industry is likely going to start looking at how these tools can extend the event experience. 

Gone will be the days of attending a live event and then forgetting half of the learnings before you are home. From marketing material to replays and follow-up workshops, digital tools will start being used to ensure that the event experience doesn’t exist in isolation. So give the event life afterwards.

Live event scale

The future of events will be impacted by the increased interest in sustainable and climate-friendly in-person events. 

This drive towards green events will impact the desire for sustainable virtual events. But, what will this do for the live event experience?

The more people you have to host, the higher the anticipated carbon footprint because you need more space and ‘stuff’ to meet their needs. So ultimately, the scale of some live events may decrease.

However, smaller live events are likely to lead to an intimate event experience. Not only are attendees able to fully engage with each other, but they can also fully participate in an event. Events can be more personalised this way too!

Digital technology changing the virtual & hybrid event experience

Beyond the digital tools that can help to facilitate virtual and hybrid events, there is a wide range of trending digital technology. This technology is predicted to become more accessible which means that it will appear more frequently in the events industry. 

The technology that is likely to lead the charge in the live events industry is augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

From gaming headsets to the Metaverse and an ABBA concert performed by holograms, there is no denying that AR and VR are becoming more mainstream. It is this type of technology that can help develop immersive virtual and hybrid event experiences. 

The Recession

We create unforgettable experiences that bring communities together. As we enter into a period of economic uncertainty, organisations may soon be evaluating which areas of business spend can be axed under the label ‘non-essential’. Some may be tempted to class events under this label, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

For companies experiencing a period of change and growth, the shared memories and sense of belonging that team building and employee engagement events can create, illustrates that events are essential. 

People want to spend their time working for a company that they love. By running events like this, your people will feel like they belong with the team they work with, and the reward and recognition they receive for their efforts will lead to employee retention, satisfaction and a higher level of input and effort. When your organisation’s people feel cared about, they care about your organisation. These are just some of the benefits events can have, we really could go on for days. 

Take a look at the case study from our award winning hybrid event, live from the USA, streamed to over 180 countries, with multiple watch party events here.

There is no doubt that the future of events is changing. So, if you want to be a pioneer of the event experience, contact us now!