Live events industry suffers losses around 3,000 crore

The ripple effects of coronavirus are being experienced by the live events industry, as many high-profile events are either cancelled or postponed. The Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) has estimated the loss of the industry, which constitutes events, product launches of Indian and global brands, activation, trade shows and more, to be around INR 3,000 crore. The number is likely to reach Rs 6,000 crore in the next two months, as per the industry estimates.

Some of the events that got annulled include IIFA2020, India Gaming Expo, FDCI India Fashion Week, GoaFest, PU Tech, ITB-India, India Fintech Festival, Ultra Festival and META Theatre Awards. At the same time, Trevor Noah’s ‘Loud & Clear’ and Khalid’s Free City Tour were postponed.

“The pandemic has put our businesses on pause, forcing an unprecedented loss, impacting livelihood of millions of employed, inability to pay taxes, inability to pay banks and financial institutions to honour commitments, and a challenging time for our vendors and supply chain,” Wizcraft International co-founder Sabbas Joseph said.