Following the WHO declaration that the Covid-19 outbreak is now a pandemic, Make it British Live! event has been postponed until further notice.
The number of cases in the UK is rising and is expected to increase dramatically over the coming days. This has increased the risk of contamination to the exhibitors, visitors and their families, by making the trip to the event.
In a press release issued by Make it British Live! they informed, “This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we have tried hard not to do this, but we no longer feel that the decision to keep 'business as usual' is in line with worldwide medical developments. By the time the event is due to take place we will be in the midst of a national emergency. Whilst we really want to continue with the event, we believe the right thing to do is to make this decision now to give enough time for everyone to cancel travel arrangements or hotels.”
But in line with the fact that the UK manufacturers need them now, more than ever, they are planning the Make it British Virtual Expo which will take place online at the end of May.
The virtual event will include everything that the live event does, including the conference, the networking and the workshops. Each exhibitor will have their own virtual booth that they will be able to ‘man’ for the duration of the show using a webcam that can be attached to any computer.
With this new arrangement, some of the international visitors, who might not otherwise have been able to attend, will now also be able to ‘visit’ the show, meet the exhibitors, watch the talks and network with other visitors.
And since there’s no longer any need to travel, exhibitors will be able to display a greater range of products and include more people from their teams than otherwise possible.
This virtual expo model, and the software platform chosen for it, has already proven to be successful for other large events and the organizers are confident that it will give the platform that UK manufacturers and British-made brands deserve.
