Blow for Harrogate hospitality as major exhibition called off

A major event in the Harrogate Convention Centre calendar has been called off for January 2021.

BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) has been taking place at the venue for more than 30 years.

However, with HCC’s future still unknown until the NHS confirms whether the Nightingale hospital is needed over winter, and with social distancing measures making the busy international event difficult, the organisers have cancelled it for the first time since 1989.

Instead, they will hold a “festival of turf” in the summer, which they hope will be outside. A spokesman for BIGGA (the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association) said:

“The Harrogate Convention Centre, home to BTME since its inauguration as the European Turf Management Exhibition (ETME) in 1989, has been utilised as an NHS Nightingale Hospital since the peak of the outbreak in April and BIGGA is incredibly proud to be associated with a venue that has been transformed to enable the treatment of covid 19 patients, should the need arise.

“However, the alteration of dates will require a new venue to be found and discussions are underway with potential event hosts. Details will be released in due course.

“It is anticipated that BTME will return to the Harrogate Convention Centre in January 2022.”

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The news will come as a blow to the hospitality industry, which benefits from delegates staying in local hotels and guesthouses, eating out at restaurants and visiting other venues in the town. Kimberly Wilson, chair of guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is an important event for Harrogate. After December 15, Harrogate is very quiet until the Christmas and Gift Fair, which is mostly day trippers, and BIGGA is the first big show of the year.

“It’s a big deal for the town. They take a lot of beds – there are three main days and they do a lot of life-long learning around it, so some people stay for five days. It’s a longer event and they spend a lot of money in restaurants and bars.”

The organisers said they would move their education programme, Continue to Learn, online in January next year. Organisers said they expected the event to return to Harrogate Convention Centre in 2022.

However, with other events also taking place online, fears have been raised about the future of the conference industry, especially if social distancing measures remain in place for many months or even years. Ms Wilson said she was concerned about the potential long-term impact if event organisers decided not to resume in person in future.

Harrogate Convention Centre is currently in use by the NHS as a Nightingale hospital

The announcement about BIGGA follows the news that the Flooring Show is moving from its usual home at Harrogate Convention Centre in September to the Yorkshire Event Centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground in late February. Its organisers are putting on shuttle buses to help attendees get to and from the town centre.

Meanwhile, the Bridal Show has also moved from HCC to the Yorkshire Event Centre and is set for early October this year.

No announcement has been made about whether the Nightingale hospital will remain in Harrogate. The NHS’s contract to use the site expired last Friday, but a two-week extension was announced to enable negotiations to continue.

The Prime Minister has announced £3 billion of funding to enable the Nightingale hospitals around the UK to be maintained if needed. However, the one housed at Birmingham NEC has since been scaled back and the venue is preparing to host events from October 1, when covid guidelines change.