Alex Hewitt, CEO at AOK Events on why 2024 is shaping up to be a bumper year for corporate hospitality and live entertainment…

Whilst the live event wilderness of 2020 is beginning to feel like quite a long time ago, it has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in the rise and rise of the popularity of corporate hospitality, with 2024 set to be one of the busiest years on record.

All those months at home with virtual meetings and home schooling, left all of us missing the visceral, immersive joy of live experiences and since sporting and music events started taking place with live audiences again in 2021, corporate hospitality has grown and grown in popularity as a marketing tool.

Companies have realised that the quickest and most effective way to broaden a relationship, to open a door or to say thank you, is to spend quality time with a customer in an environment where the magic and energy of the performance becomes a shared, “forever experience”. With more and more senior executives working from home as well as from the office, having a chat over a glass of wine at lunchtime is not always that simple to arrange, but an invite to a sporting or musical event is likely to guarantee at least 4 hours quality time, for a relatively small investment (in the great scheme of relationship marketing).

The 2024 hospitality calendar is absolutely jam packed with blue riband events including The Olympics in Paris, The Euros in Germany, Andy Murray’s last Wimbledon, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, high quality international cricket, as well as the most exciting finish to a Premier League season for years.  Many events are already close to selling out, earlier than ever before.

With general admission tickets also selling out incredibly quickly – Glastonbury sold 200,000 tickets in under an hour – private customers are also looking at corporate hospitality as a way to guarantee their participation in an event, with better located seats and an all-inclusive experience a bonus.  Stadiums and arenas offer (close to) restaurant quality food, fewer queues, improved connectivity and a quality experience from the moment you arrive until the end of the day.

Live entertainment brings people together and it creates a sense of belonging and an authentic connection. This connectivity is a huge asset when it comes to doing business and is hard to replicate with any other type of marketing event. With tens of thousands of fixtures and gigs taking place across the UK throughout the year, for all tastes and for all possible budgets, it is no surprise that more and more sold-out signs are going to be seen as the year progresses.

www.aokevents.com