Thomas Schlittler («Observer»)
For two years, the event industry had to go under. The corona waves swallowed concert after concert. The fear of exploding case numbers prevented festivals and company parties. But now Swiss artists and organizers are celebrating their big comeback – and with them thousands of caterers, stage builders, sound engineers, security guards and ushers.
“There are more events in Switzerland this year than ever before,” says André Béchir. The 73-year-old should know: he has brought stars like the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to Switzerland and is considered Icon of the local event industry.
According to Béchir, the need to catch up is enormous. Not only at concerts, but also at music festivals and other events: “Every organizer of the Schwingfest is happy that his festival can finally take place again.” The industry is confident. A few months ago her diary was half empty, now it’s full to the brim. But that also brings problems. “There is a massive oversupply,” says Stefan Matthey. The head of Good News Productions AG therefore assumes that many organizers will remain seated on tickets.
Good News recently organized the Ärzte concert in Thun, followed by Die Toten Hosen in Zurich’s Letzigrund in mid-July. “Big names always pull,” says Matthey. With medium-sized and small concerts, however, the situation is sometimes different. “The desired audience is often not found there.”
There is a lack of personnel and material
The huge supplier and service industry behind the major events is not affected by the sluggish ticket sales. An event needs a stage, functioning light and sound technology as well as service and security people, even if only 50 percent of the tickets are sold. “In the long term, however, organizers and suppliers are of course dependent on each other,” says Christoph Kamber. He is President of the industry association Expo Event, which represents around 180 companies, including concert and theater organizers, stage construction technicians and caterers.
The most pressing problem in the industry is the acute shortage of personnel and materials. Kamber: “Around a quarter of the employees who used to work in the event industry reoriented themselves during the pandemic. In view of the huge need to catch up, these people are now doubly missing.” Whether video technician, sound engineer, stand builder or chef – there is a lack of skilled workers everywhere. Even for simpler tasks such as ushering or service, the market has dried up completely.
Nicolai Squarra knows these problems firsthand. Together with his wife and two business partners, in the middle of the pandemic, in autumn 2020, he founded the event and congress location JED Events and turned the old “NZZ” print shop in Schlieren into a large event location. In September 2021 he also took over an established event catering company. When the observer comes to visit, young entrepreneur Squarra says: “It’s crazy – until a few months ago we weren’t allowed to work at all, and now we’re being overwhelmed with inquiries.”
Wages rise
The demand is so great that the young company has already had to turn down several orders. “Especially with short-term inquiries for events this summer, we simply cannot find enough people to carry out events at the desired level of quality.”
A look at the jobs advertised by the company shows how great the need is: JED Events currently employs 22 people – but is looking for eight additional permanent employees. Squarra says there is a particularly large lack of staff in the kitchen, where the struggle for well-trained people sometimes takes on absurd forms. “I was recently informed by a competitor that a chef de partie had been poached from him for a monthly salary of 7,200 francs. So far, you have received between 4,000 and 5,000 francs for this position.”
According to Christoph Kamber from Expo Event, wage levels are likely to rise throughout the industry, especially for the very sought-after temporary workers. «The pool of freelancers is limited. The temporary workers therefore have the upper hand when it comes to payment.” For Kamber, however, it is also clear that the event industry can never be about money alone. «If you want to survive in our industry in the long term, you have to have the necessary heart and soul.» Thanks to passion, patience and financial support from the federal government, the event industry has weathered the pandemic. But Covid-19 is far from forgotten. In discussions with industry representatives, the phrase “who knows what will come in the fall” keeps coming up.
André Béchir also had to find out that the virus was not over. The Rolling Stones, whom he had brought to Switzerland for the 15th time, wanted to celebrate their 60th anniversary at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium. Covid-19 had something against it: Mick Jagger tested positive, the concert had to be canceled. The party industry never really comes to rest.
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Article from the «Observer»
This article was taken from the magazine “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch
Current issue of the «Beobserver».
observer
This article was taken from the magazine “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch