Around 10,000 contractors and exhibitors have been immersed in building the small city that is Fieldays from the ground up. The excitement around ticket sales launched in May suggests the public are just as excited as the Fieldays crew to see the gates open on June 16.
“Our exhibitors and contractors always go to impressive efforts to get Fieldays up and running and this year is no exception,” New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation says.
“We’ve had many challenges to navigate over the past two years, but as a testament to the strength of the event, and to the primary industries of New Zealand, we are thrilled to see the build kick-off and the excitement around tickets going on sale.”
After the physical event was cancelled in 2020 the Fieldays team made a quick switch to an online platform, with Fieldays Online seeing 90,000 people tune in across the globe. This year they are hosting a hybrid event to cover the best of both worlds, the physical event at Mystery Creek and Fieldays Online, where they will be virtually hosting exhibitor sites and livestreaming an engaging mix of content via Fieldays TV.
“We will have a glass studio on the Village Green, in the heart of the event, similar to the America’s Cup. It will be highly visible to visitors passing by and in a convenient location for live crosses to exhibitor sites,” he says.
“Content will be streamed throughout the day, and visitors can tune in to watch content on-demand at the end of the day, allowing for a seamless Fieldays experience.”
Travel restrictions have prohibited many international exhibitors and visitors from attending the physical event, but a few have support based in NZ so will have some representation. And permitting it continues safely, the trans-Tasman bubble has allowed the opportunity to reinvite Australian exhibitors.
“Usually, we have around 2500 to 3000 international visitors to Fieldays, and at least 11 exhibitors. Last year over 75 countries connected with our online event,” he says.
“Internationally we’re talking a common language in the covid world, despite the different cultures and language barriers, we are all facing the same challenges and learning from each other”.
The team anticipate the Health and Wellbeing Hub to be a hive of activity, with a greater focus under the current climate. And the Innovations Hub also has some exciting exhibitors who have been working on solutions for issues facing the primary sector, such as labour shortages and other covid implications.
“Growing NZ is hosting the Careers and Education Hub, which will have the primary sector opportunities on display. It’ll be great for those thinking of a career change or considering study options,” he says.
The NZ National Fieldays Society has found it challenging to stabilise their business after the events industry came to a grinding halt. They have less staff on the ground and many exhibitors were impacted by covid-19 as well. Now, with 50% of local accommodation unavailable due to MIQ and emergency housing, they have had to be innovative to support exhibitors and visitors to access the event.
“Accommodation has been under pressure for a number of years and it’s amplified this year. To address this, we are putting together the Fieldays Campervan Village at Claudelands Event Centre for our exhibitors,” he says.
“I think the exhibitors are looking forward to coming together and sharing the experience.”
They have worked hard to maintain their sustainability focus too.
Fieldays is ISO 20121 accredited, which is an international standard in Event Sustainability Management that is used for the Olympic Games and other world-class events.
“We’re always trying to improve our sustainability practice and we don’t want to drop the ball,” he says.
“To support our ISO accreditation we work with Instep, who helps us incorporate environmental management and carbon footprint calculations into everything we do.”
Despite the challenges, exhibitor numbers are almost on par with 2019, and the excitement across social media suggests they can expect large numbers of visitors this year. Around 130,000 people attended in 2019 and the successful online event in 2020 demonstrates the value people place on Fieldays as a platform to reconnect.
Sidebar:
Fieldays wins bronze
Fieldays has been announced as a Bronze Award winner in the Virtual Expo category for the 11th Global Eventex Awards for Fieldays Online.
“It’s huge to be recognised, receiving a Bronze Award for the Eventex Awards is an impressive feat in what has been a challenging year,” New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation says.
“With innovation being one of our key strategic pillars, we took a challenging set of circumstances and invented a world-first event of its kind, keeping rural communities connected in a time of adversity.
“Fieldays Online has now become an important part of the Fieldays brand.”
The Eventex Awards recognise excellence in every aspect of the event industry, including events and experiences, as well as event technology, suppliers, venues and destinations.
There were a staggering 561 entries from 37 countries around the world.
It took 108 days to pull together Fieldays Online in 2020 when the physical event was cancelled due to covid-19 restrictions. Fieldays partnered with Satellite Media, an Auckland-based digital innovation agency, to bring the virtual event to life, and Trade Me supported the event, connecting various Fieldays exhibitors with ecommerce capabilities.
Held over a two-week timeframe in July 2020, Fieldays Online allowed visitors to scope out Fieldays deals and access live content from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
