Upcoming events in the USA in 2021: Leading Demand Indicators for May 24
Remember about that event boom in June and July we’ve been forecasting? It’s happening. Events are up by 207% this month. And this is only the beginning of the event recovery.
In this report, we explore how the volume of events being booked compares to pre-pandemic times, when events drove more than $1.1 trillion in demand each year.
This is the combined impact of events in 2021, as in how many attendees will attend sports, conferences, expos, festivals, concerts, conferences, performing arts and community events across the USA.
And the volume of events for 2021 is growing rapidly. That 207% figure mentioned before? It's how many more new events were schedule this month compared to the last. These were the new events booked this week alone by type:
How do 2021 events compare to 2019?
One of the questions we get most often is: how far are we from 2019 levels of events? AKA, how long until event impact and people movement will be back to pre-pandemic levels. Because those levels were great for business, for employment and for thriving communities, so we all want to get back to busy streets and buzzing concert, community and sports venues.
It’s a good question. As restrictions ease rapidly across the USA, the volume of events and especially the predicted attendance at events is rising rapidly. But event recovery, like demand recovery, is highly fragmented. For example, many smaller events that cluster to create unexpected impact are being scheduled in New York, while Denver is seeing fewer but larger events.
City recoveries: how 2021’s events compare to 2019 (pre-pandemic times)
Below are some of America’s largest cities's event recovery as well as a graph of the combined impact of events for the year. We take June 2019 as a benchmark and compare the volume of events to June 2021. (If a key city for you is not on this list, get in touch with our team.)
City-by-city recovery rates vary widely. For example:
Events in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2021 are 15% of 2019 (ie 15% into event recovery)
Las Vegas, Nevada is 31% into its event recovery
Houston, Texas is 13% into its event recovery
Miami, Florida is 14% into its event recovery
Topeka, Kansas is 33% into its event recovery
San Antonio, Texas is 17% into its event recovery
San Diego, California, is 7% into its event recovery
Denver, Colorado, is 16% into its event recovery
This graph shows the cities that booked in the most events this week:
Below we've selected briefly detailed the three leading cities rescheduling events this week, as well as previous leader Las Vegas (from previous reports). As you can see, most are coming off a lower base than cities in states such as Florida and Kansas.
Los Angeles: 5% into event recovery (June 2021 events of June 2019 events)
In 2019, Los Angeles hosted more than 7,100 attendance-based events such as sports, concerts and festivals. After a slower start than some states, California is rapidly rescheduling events with considerable growth to go.
Significant upcoming events in Los Angeles in June are mostly sports games, which make up 72% of events with more than 1,000 attendees. Notable events include:
Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 12 with up to 18,840 people expected based on a capacity of 33% at home games.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 16 with up to 18,840 people expected based on a capacity of 33% at home games.
MLS - Los Angeles vs Dallas at Bank of California Stadium on June 23 with over 10,362 people expected to attend.
Below is our Aggregate Event Impact graph for Los Angeles. This view shows the combined volume of people expected at events each day.
Las Vegas: 31% into event recovery (June 2021 events of June 2019 events)
Las Vegas has been one of the leading cities scheduling events in the last two months. It is currently sitting at just over the third of events of 2019 for June, and continues to grow rapidly.
While Las Vegas has been scheduling hundreds of performing arts events, the event recovery in regards to impact is being led by the return of major conferences and expos. This is a trend many of our customers are tracking closely, to see if conferences that were traditionally held in more restricted states relocate to new destinations for the COVID recovery era.
Impactful events include:
World of Concrete expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center on June 8 until June 10, with 60,000 people expected.
Tile Expo at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on June 16 to 18 with 35,000 people expected.
Home Improvement and Backyard Expo at the World Market Center on June 11 to 13 with 14,000 people expected.
Below is our Aggregate Event Impact graph for Las Vegas in 2021. This view shows the combined volume of people expected at events each day.
New York City: 4% into event recovery (June 2021 events of June 2019 events)
New York is one the busiest cities in the US this month, but its skyrocketing events rate has a long way to go to catch up with its former event activity. But after the year New York has had, and every US city, it’s more important than ever to capture every surge in event-driven demand. Here is the rate of new events being scheduled in 2021:
Impactful upcoming events include:
San Diego Padres vs New York Mets at Citi Field on June 12, with more than 11,400 people expected.
Other Art Fair Festival at Brooklyn Expo Center on July 22 to July 25th with more than 4,800 people expected.
NYC Multicultural Festival at Jackie Robinson Park on June 5 with 1,500 people expected.
New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on June 6 with up to 14,400 people expected.
New York is one of the cities where we expect to see some of the more significant event recovery this year, given the pent up demand, large population and historical importance as a major conference and performing arts center. Here is the combined impact of events for the year so far:
Chicago: 10% into event recovery (June 2021 events of June 2019 events)
Chicago is one of clearest examples of the pent-up demand for events being released as restrictions ease, with one of the largest post restriction surges (see the Aggregate Event Impact below). Like most US cities, it is recovering rapidly given significant restrictions have only just begun to ease.
Impactful upcoming events in Chicago include:
The Franchise Show at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on June 12 to 13 with 3,500 people expected.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 11 with more than 9,800 people expected to attend.
Dark Star Orchestra at Soldier Field on June 11 with 1,000 people expected to attend.
Events drive demand and need to be in your forecasts
As events return, the composition of demand changes. For quick retail chains, online delivery and takeaway orders are dropping as in-person ticks up and the contest for food traffic begins again. For accommodation groups, the rise in domestic travel for events equips hotels with the ability to sell more of their rooms directly to customers, rather than go through marketplaces. And for transport, it becomes harder to keep track of your hotspots and more important to begin tracking venues again.
The report above is only an outline of the return of events. Gain access to verified and standardized data about impactful events drawn from hundreds of sources with PredictHQ, so you can minimize uncertainty and demand anomalies, and maximise your preparation and efficiency.
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