PLASA Show 2026 has officially closed for another year, and the Backup team were thrilled to have been part of it.
Every year the show brings new faces and new excitement to Olympia and this year was no exception. Backup Tech was once again part of the #WeMakeEvents hub, which was perfectly situated for the team and its Ambassadors to meet and chat with many of the show’s attendees.
Backup hosted two well-attended seminars, Talking Health & Welfare and Building A Sustainable Live Events Workforce, along with a breakfast meeting that brought together many of the industry’s associations, unions, groups and charities to look at how they could work more closely together to support the people working behind the scenes in entertainment and live events.
“It wouldn’t be PLASA if we weren’t rushed off our feet, and this year we had a packed schedule,” says Backup Chair, Lee Dennison. “We took the opportunity to meet with Partners who were also exhibiting at the show, the seminars gave us the chance to highlight some of the important issues the industry is facing. The breakfast meeting was, to our knowledge, the first time the various groups had come together as a whole and elicited some positive conversations. There will be more to follow as we continue to collaborate.”
Talking Health & Welfare examined wellness in stressful situations and saw Backup’s Jess Allan joined by Backup Ambassador Gemma Fletcher and Backup Trustee Mig Burgess, plus Tiffany Hudson, Psychotherapist, representing BAPAM, along with Joe Hastings, CEO from Music Support. Building A Sustainable Live Events Workforce was hosted by Lee with panellists Suzi Green, Backup Ambassador and founder of the BACK LOUNGE, plus Paul Jones from the UK Live Event Freelancers Forum, also a Backup Ambassador and Jon Cowley FCCA, Partner at David Howard Chartered Accountants, and offered attendees practical advice on building more resilient careers.
Backup also received two welcome boosts to its fundraising totals for 2026 at the show.
The first took place on the Classic Gear Live stand, thanks to Rob Halliday. During a fortuitous tidy up, Rob found a mysterious cardboard box and it turned out to be a forgotten lighting treasure. A box of six pristine copies of A Different Light, a collection of remarkable images, taken by Lewis Lee, from shows by Genesis, Pink Floyd and many more. Each day Rob auctioned one copy via blind auction, and a final copy was raffled. The initiative was a huge success and raised over £850.00 in total.
The second came directly from the PLASA Innovation Awards, with profits from the entry fees once again generously donated to Backup Tech, raising a fantastic £4000. A huge thank you to PLASA, Rob and all the seminar contributors, volunteers, partners and industry friends for making PLASA such a successful show. As Lee concludes, Backup Tech can only do the work it does thanks to the contributions from its amazing industry friends and family.
“PLASA London is not just an opportunity to meet people, it’s a proper chance to connect,” says Lee. “The show floor can be an overwhelming place, so taking a moment to reflect and appreciate our industry peers is important. We are so grateful to PLASA for its continued support, to everyone who visited us, who lent a hand on the stand, took the time to be part of our seminars, raise money and supports our work. As we reflect on the work done over the last few weeks, we have a lot to be proud of and a really strong base on which to continue.”
