A report issued on the live events industry in Texas portrayed in dire terms the result of the COVID-19 pandemic on a business that affects so many others, spreading the possibility of a major recession in the state.
“The industry is composed of a vast variety of businesses that provide event venues, planning and design services, catering, audio-visual, entertainment, rentals, décor, tents and stages,” the live events brief said. “The industry serves and impacts every industry in the business community through corporate meetings, tradeshows, and conferences.”
The report said the live events industry, because of the pandemic, was the first to shut down and predicted it will be the last to reopen after the pandemic.
Approximately 30,000 businesses across Texas are involved in the putting on live events of all kinds, employing more than 1 million workers and accounting for $87 billion in revenues.
The closure of live-audience-attended events had created a ripple downturn among companies that depend on the events industry including tourism, travel, hospitality, food and beverage and many others.
Unlike restaurants that can move their operations outside to retain customers or stores that can allow masked patrons, live events organizers have no alternative.
“The plight goes even deeper than other hard-hit industries,” the report said. “No to-go orders, no curbside pickups, no mail order.”
Bookings of live events have shrunk 90% or greater the report added and 75% of its workforce laid off. The total loss is estimated to be at least $12 billion.
To date, 29% of companies involved in the live events industry are facing bankruptcy while the canceling of major yearly venues like the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo will cost the state $391 million in business. The Austin City Limits Music Festival will cost $265 million and the Texas State Fair $308 million, with 2,751 Texans losing their full-time jobs from that event alone.
“It is likely that this trend won’t significantly change even with partial reopening until months after there is a cure or well-distributed vaccine for COVID-19,” the report predicted.