From Pixels to Possibilities: Innovations within Virtual and Hybrid Events

Virtual events, despite the perception of being a contemporary phenomenon in the wake of Covid-19, have been used for more than 40 years, with a proliferation since the early 2000s when digital technologies rapidly evolved enabling easier and quicker access to online platforms. Whilst this digital revolution has had a significant impact on all aspects of professional and personal life, the evolution of the events industry to fully embrace the technology has been slower than predicted (McLoughlin, 2014; Sadd, 2014). The Covid-19 pandemic was an unintended catalyst for intensifying the development and innovation of virtual events (Brown, 2021), and in a post-Covid world virtual events and hybrid events are continuing to establish themselves as crucial components of the events mix.
The world has changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, affecting most businesses, and personal habits. As a result, the events industry (among others), is having to evolve and innovate in order to maintain its social and economic value. Despite lock-down restrictions being lifted globally there were noticeable reductions in attendance at many events and festivals, due to reservations about mixing socially (to avoid infections), and due to decreases in disposable incomes in the aftermath of Covid-19 and more recently in the global cost-of-living crisis. For the events industry, that rely on attendance and socialisation as a core characteristic of events (Getz & Page, 2020), this reduction in attendance represents another major challenge in the immediate and long-term future of the sector. However, the events industry is a highly resilient and innovative sector, and the solutions to these social and financial constraints again lie within the remit of virtual and hybrid events, as well as the potential within the metaverse for creating and experiencing events.
This chapter, therefore, will examine the development and growth of virtual and hybrid events, explore concepts of innovation and how this applies to events, highlight how the industry and society has evolved in the wake of Covid-19, and outline some potential for future developments with events. This will also aid in setting the scene for the rest of the book which explores many of these themes in depth. Finally, a range of definitions are also outlined to aid the reader.