The Cycle Show organisers confident the event will go ahead at Alexandra Palace in June

The UK’s leading cycling event is planned to return to London on 25 – 27 June 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many trade shows and other cycling events to be cancelled or postponed since the outbreak but the organisers of this year’s Cycle Show under the roof of Alexander Palace, are confident the event will be able to go-ahead in a safe Covid secure environment. 

Due to Alexandra Palace having 196 acres of parkland, socially distancing becomes less problematic and can serve as a demo area to test out the array of bikes on display from the likes of Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, Canyon, Ribble, Raleigh and more. Showcasing the best brands with dedicated halls for electric bikes and triathlon, plus live theatre with special guests under the roof of the Alexandra Palace is a very important part of presenting to the consumer and the trade. The people who attend are engage and interested so it is very much worthwhile doing them – or is it?

The difficulty will be the government rules regarding social gatherings, and the on-going local lockdown during the month of June and will it force the shows organisers to re-evaluate their plans for the event. As we head towards spring with a degree of uncertainty, and with an understanding that it is unlikely events are going to run in any familiar capacity for the remainder of the 2021, the cycling events industry will need to demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and innovation throughout this pandemic. Hosting a virtual trade event should be on the list of options as both organisers and exhibitors cannot count their losses forever. 

Now may be the time to transform the typically-live Cycle Show into a virtual reality event this year. The right tools for a large-scale virtual exhibition will allow the organisers to maintain a positive spirit between the trade and its potential customers during these tough times. Virtual event platforms may even reach a target audience of millions rather just reach people at a live show which will only be in the thousands.

This is not so far-fetched as it sounds. By dynamic virtual scheduling through an event management and marketing platform, you can boost engagement, and retain sponsor revenue by maxamising the virtual event impact i.e:

• Having a complete view of the attendees’ event activity history
• Transferring actionable event data seamlessly to the marketing tech stack and CRM system
• Understanding how all events are impacting sales pipeline and closed business
• Measuring the impact and ROI of the total events program

Should the organisers confidence prevail and the Cycle Show goes ahead the big drawback in the current situation is obviously the almost universal feeling of uncertainty over the ongoing pandemic. Lockdowns and restrictions may be partially lifted in June, but mixed messages from health authorities make the idea of visiting an exhibition centre packed with thousands of people from all corners of the UK less than appealing for some. This is, of course, will be high on the agenda for the Cycle Show organisers who will completely sanitise exhibition areas and enforce strict directives regarding organisation and behaviour in order to ensure the full safety of both exhibitors and visitors. 

Ironically, in these unprecedented times the cycle industry is having a bumper year in sales and it is important event management and the cycle industry work together to extend this over future years. If the Cycle Show does go-ahead it will bring together all types of rider, providing the opportunity to spend time with like-minded passionate cyclists.