Clearer rules on B2B events welcomed; could tamp down rising anxiety

With little time to plan big events, most coming B2B events are still hybrid or virtual, with on-site attendance of up to 100, which is within the new guidelines, say event organisers

Published Wed, May 5, 2021 · 05:50 AM

MICE

Singapore

THE move to shrink attendance capacities for live performances and business-to-business (B2B) events has been generally supported by event organisers, who are keen to avoid sparking Covid-19 clusters at events.

It could even help tamp down anxiety that had started to rise since Friday, when tighter social gathering rules were announced but no mention was made of B2B events. Companies said that clients felt uneasy about the new clusters and began cancelling or scaling down events during this period.

On Tuesday, the multi-ministry taskforce said that events would be allowed to host a maximum of 100 people without pre-event testing (PET) and 250 with PET.

Although the move is an abrupt reversal of the increase to 750 pax with PET and 250 without PET that kicked in on April 24, organisers said the short time period between changes was a blessing in disguise. With limited time to plan large events, most of their B2B events lined up for the next month are still hybrid or virtual, with o…