The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s announcement on the 17thJuly that business events, conferences and event centres will be given the go ahead to reopen on 1stOctober provided they are adhering to social distancing and, if levels of infection remain at current rates, is “Great news!”according to the NTDA’s Stefan Hay.
Hay added: “We really welcome this news which is a very positive move forward for the 2020 NTDA Tyre Industry Conference, Annual Dinner and Tyre Industry Awards which we are currently planning to run on Thursday 5thNovember at the VOX Conference Centre at Genting Resorts World, Birmingham NEC. Many sponsors and exhibitors have reconfirmed their continued support for both events and others have expressed an interest in getting involved. Naturally, we will be working very closely with the venue to ensure that we adhere to the new guidance, published by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport and the Association of Event Organisers, which will help both the venue operator and NTDA team understand how we can host the events and keep our delegates, guests and employees safe.”
According to Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston MP, a number of pilots will be taking place at event venues across the country in preparation for a return to large-scale events and to test how best to implement social distancing practises.
The NTDA will be keeping to the same tried and tested format for the conference, trade exhibition, annual dinner and awards, but naturally certain safety measures will be implemented.
Hay continued: “For example, attendees at both events on the 5thNovember will need to confirm or reconfirm their attendance and pre-register their names and those of fellow delegates or guests together with a contact mobile number and email address for tracing purposes with my colleague Alison Keitch via info@ntda.co.uk, but despite these measures delegates and guests will still enjoy the excellent standard of events they have become accustomed to.”
The NTDA advises that there will be no physical delegate badges, lanyards or delegate bags on the day and that it is significantly reducing overall capacity for both events to ensure social distancing can be maintained, so if people have not booked for the conference and / or dinner and want to attend they should book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Entry forms for the 2020 NTDA Tyre Industry Awards are also still available and should be requested from Alison Keitch, as above. The closing date for all entries is Friday 28thAugust and the emphasis this year will be on celebrating the tyre industry professional’s achievements during the Covid-19 lock-down.
