Euro 2020: Return of the foot soldiers

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Covid crisis was digitalization. When coronavirus locked us down, many of us switched to the World Wide Web for comfort. Starting with talking to friends and binge-watching Netflix, we graduated to attending entertainment events online. We tasted wine, worked out with fitness gurus, cooked gourmet food with top chefs and watched live performances, all online.

Why wouldn't Euro 2020 matches join the list?

AGCS has seen a rise in insurance inquiries for transmission of events, through satellite, live streaming and pay-per-view contracts. 'People buy an individual ticket for viewing a game at home. If there is a partial or full transmission failure, then the organizer will have to refund the tickets and that revenue is protected by this insurance cover,' Alastair elaborates.

The cover was always available in the market but it has seen increased interest in the post-pandemic era as the number of spectators in stadiums drops, he adds.

Will this interest in live-streamed events continue?

Alastair believes that the thrill of watching sports live far outweighs the comfort of watching games on screen. 'Once things normalize, people will want to attend the events.' In fact, he expects a spike in the number of people attending sporting events next season to make up for the deprivation of the past 18 months.

The trend could be different, however, for music, arts and entertainment events. 'For small entertainment events, like music or a comedy performance, I think there could be a growth in the number of live streams. These events can be more intimate online. You can have interactions with the performer. If you have a very small gig, you can have a Q&A session with the artist. In person, access is restricted because you are not allowed backstage.'

Sensing the need, several social media companies are already offering platforms for live streaming events. Some examples are Twitter Spaces, Spotify and Instagram Live. Under the hashtag #TogetherAtHome, several concerts and performances were streamed online during the lockdowns. Many fans even got to interact directly with noted musicians, an opportunity that in-person concerts rarely afford.

Within this trend, one area of interest for insurers is cyber coverage. With events being live-streamed and heavy use of technology even at venues, there is a lot of interest in coverage for cyber outages. 'In the future, increasing demand might lead to specific cyber product offering for events. This is a hot topic across all areas at the moment,' Alastair says.