Empty Events Around the Country Continue to Highlight Out-of-Work Event Pros

The eye-catching attendee-less activations, which advocate for federal support to the event industry, continued last week in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Denver.

Claire Hoffman

August 19, 2020

The Los Angeles "empty event" took place at L.A. Live on Aug. 12, and it was designed and produced by Sterling Engagements. Local designer Shawna Yamamoto created a floral installation that spelled "12 Million Strong" to represent the number of Americans who make up the event industry.Photo: Maya Myers PhotographyEarlier this month, a series of headline-grabbing events took place. But they didn't draw attention because of their star-studded guest lists—instead, it was for having no guest list at all.

These so-called "empty events" are the brainchild of the Live Events Coalition, a volunteer-run nonprofit organization created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The staged, attendee-less activations—which initially took place in Washington D.C., Dallas, and New York, followed by Los Angeles, San Diego, and Denver last week—shine a spotlight on the industry and its calls for federal aid, expansions to the Paycheck Protection Program, and more. (The L.A. and San Diego events were partnerships with the California Events Coalition, while Denver's event partnered with the Colorado Event Alliance.)In addition to federal aid, the San Diego coalition is calling for 20% of the county's grant funds to be set aside for the event and hospitality industry, which employs 199,890 local professionals. Organizers say the city's conferences and events generated nearly $329 million in occupancy tax revenue last year.Photo: Amy Millard Creative Studio

But why empty events? The goal is “to showcase and remind people that [an event] doesn't magically appear. That there are these extremely talented and highly skilled and trained professionals that build this," Nancy Shaffer, founder and CEO of BRAVO! Events and the president of the coalition’s board, told BizBash earlier this month.

The more recent gatherings took the same premise and added some local flair. The Los Angeles event, which took place Aug. 12 in Xbox Plaza at L.A. Live, featured an eye-catching art installation utilizing mixed media and florals to spell the words "12 Million Strong"—a.k.a., the number of Americans who make up the event industry. The formation of empty tables spelled out "One Voice" from above, and in an appropriately L.A. twist, an empty red carpet set included a lighting installation with 48 fixtures, each representing 250,000 industry professionals. The event also included a car parade, where unemployed Southern California event professionals decorated their cars and caravanned in solidarity.

"It was important to me to not just design an empty event per say, but really make an activation that shined hope," explained Alexandra Rembac, principal and creative director of Sterling Engagements, who designed and produced the event. "I wanted to build something that represented not only Los Angeles but stood for who we were as an industry. The Live Events Coalition is uniting our industry and I personally, and professionally for that matter, felt compelled to not only highlight that, but celebrate it."

Meanwhile, the San Diego gathering took over San Diego Waterfront Park on Aug. 13, and included both live and virtual speeches plus a caravan of empty event company trucks. And in Denver, the Colorado Event Alliance set up empty tables and bar scenes at the Sculpture Park event lawn of the Denver Performing Arts Complex on Aug. 14.

Check out the list of vendors who volunteered their time and services to all three events, and keep scrolling for a look at the activations.

DENVER VENDORS: Catering by Design | Event Rents | From the Hip Photo | Imprint Events Group | Peak Beverage

Los Angeles

Photo: Maya Myers Photography

An empty red carpet set, which served as the setting for the day's speeches, included a lighting installation with 48 fixtures, each representing 250,000 industry professionals. The idea was "to pay homage to all our empty carpets within the entertainment industry—film, TV, theater and events—and beyond that, be an ode to Hollywood. Los Angeles is filled with so many artistic installations in the form of expression and this was ours, inspired by Chris Burden’s iconic ‘Urban Light' sculpture," said Rembac.

Photo: Maya Myers Photography

The formation of empty tables spelled out the words "One Voice" from above. "The 'one voice' concept was designed to ignite our reality, but it’s also a true testament that we are 12 million strong, and we are all advocating for the same thing," said Rembac. "Our lights are still burning bright; we have passion and fierce love for what we do, it’s our livelihood, and together we will weather this storm until we go live again."

Photo: Maya Myers Photography

Due to local restrictions on live gatherings, event professionals were invited to show their solidarity in a car parade through Chick Hearn Court.

Photo: Maya Myers Photography

Local event professionals decorated their cars and company trucks for the drive-by parade.

Photo: Maya Myers Photography

San Diego

San Diego's Empty Event Rally was held on Aug. 13 at Waterfront Park, in front of the San Diego County Administration Building. Forty-eight tables—each with 10 empty chairs—represented 250,000 event workers who are out of work due to the pandemic. Each place setting featured signs with messages such as "live event producer not allowed to work."

Photo: Amy Millard Creative Studio

Both in-person and virtual comments were made by industry leaders. The rally drew the attention of local elected officials such as Assemblyman Todd Gloria, who tweeted: "As a renowned tourist destination, San Diego's events and hospitality industry is uniquely impacted by the #COVID19 pandemic. I appreciate the work of #SDEventCoalition, and look forward to the day when our nearly 200,000 event staff are back to work. #solidarity"

Photo: Amy Millard Creative Studio

In addition to federal aid, the San Diego coalition is calling for 20% of the county's grant funds to be set aside for the event and hospitality industry, which employs 199,890 local professionals. Organizers say the city's conferences and events generated nearly $329 million in occupancy tax revenue last year.

Photo: Amy Millard Creative Studio

The San Diego rally also included an Empty Truck Caravan, which featured the trucks and trailers of local event companies that would normally be packed with equipment and staffers.

Photo: Amy Millard Creative Studio

Denver

The Colorado Event Alliance hosted its empty event on Aug. 14 on the Sculpture Park event lawn at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. The alliance says that in Colorado alone, more than $87 billion in direct spending is created by live events of all types; the industry also employees 36,000 Coloradans.

Photo: From the Hip Photo

The set included all the elements that would go into a typical event, from the tables and chairs to the buffets, decor, staging, and audiovisual production—everything but the guests. Each empty table represented 250,000 live event professionals.

Photo: From the Hip Photo

"Live events professionals are typically unseen, making all the magic happen from behind the scenes," said Syd Sexton, chair of the Colorado Event Alliance. "Most people have no idea how big our industry is and that we literally touch and affect every other industry through meetings, conventions, and trade shows as well as positively impacting personal lives through weddings and social events, live entertainment, and nonprofit fundraising events. But our industry is being decimated by the pandemic. It is truly the hardest hit, the first to be fully shut down and it will be among the last to fully reopen. Our industry, with its 12 million national workers, needs help in order to survive."

Photo: From the Hip Photo