Whatever your interest of choice may be, there seems to be no end to events being postponed or cancelled entirely. Yesterday it was announced that Euro 2020 would be postponed until 2021 as football events across the world are being cancelled, the NBA season and MLB have been suspended for the time being and the start of the Formula 1 season has been put on hold.
Events in boxing and the UFC have been continuing as usual through streaming and pay-per-view, and although some may take solace with the governing body for the Olympics stating that currently they will continue as usual, Japan is now also seeing the impact of the spread and before long we could see the Olympics being added to the list for what has been cancelled or postponed, as it continues to grow.
There has already been a little pushback from countries who feel their athletes are unable to properly train for the global competition that is now only a few months away, all eyes will be on the IOC to see how long they can hold out before any possibility of cancellation or postponement is announced.
For the events that have managed to stick to their schedule, they’re going ahead for the most part with any fans or audience in attendance as stadiums close and people are urged to stay home. The events, however, aren’t the only casualties, as many businesses that rely on revenue generated from these events are now faced with the uncertainty of just how long this could go on.
The hotel and restaurant industries have already sought out a bailout as the numbers of guests drop following health advice, the betting and casino industry have also asked for compensation following some forced closures and stock drops in some cases as much as 17%. With this predicted to continue for quite some time, the recovery period may take longer than expected, as people are asked to work from home if possible or not being able to work at all, their ability to support the struggling business once some normalcy has returned may be difficult as they also try to get their own feet back under themselves.
In light of this however there are some that are doing very well in this trying time – with online streaming being as prevalent as it is, events that are able to live stream such as those with pay-per-view are able to capture an increased audience as the number of people that have to remain at home continues to grow. We could see a trend of events being broadcast online see growth as the uncertainty around how long this may last remains up in the air, but the hope for many will be a return to normal operating procedure – a return to fans in the stadium, cheering on their favourite athletes.
