Traditionally the party industry’s biggest and most lucrative season, Halloween typically sees people coming together to enjoy scaring each other – and being scared – as much as possible. This year of course, there is more at stake than ever, as it looks as if the holiday will be the first major seasonal celebration to take place since the Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed. PPE checks out how this year’s socially-distanced Halloween is likely to look...
t’s almost impossible to predict what this year’s Halloween will look like, with October currently more than four months away and fresh guidance being issued on a daily basis. While it feels difficult to make plans at this stage, that’s exactly what we have to do. Although none of us can look into the future (although that would be incredibly helpful at the moment), we can make a number of fairly educated guesses about what Halloween 2020 might look like. On the whole people have been remarkably resilient during the period of lockdown, but judging by the impressive reaction to the UK’s VE Day and Easter celebrations,
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Right: This Googly Eye Bat child’s costume from Palmer Agencies comes complete with mask, plush chest and attached wings and gloves.
Fast Fright
“For this Halloween season we are advising our customers to buy what they need to avoid huge stock risks as we expect that in a lot of European countries the big theme parties will be either cancelled or much smaller. We stock almost the complete Leg Avenue collection and ship almost every order the same day from our warehouse in the Netherlands.” Trudy Pijnacker, operations manager, Leg Avenue Europe 42
Right: Masks are expected to be a popular choice for this year’s virtual celebrations.
there is a significant appetite for coming together and having fun, as people seek a little normality. Those celebrations were succesful even with people continuing to adhere to the social distancing restrictions and simply partying in their front gardens, so – whatever the situation looks like by the end of October – there is no reason that Halloween should be any different. Halloween itself has always been a holiday of two halves, with children innocently trick-ortreating and adults embracing the more debauched side of the season, so while large parties in pubs and clubs are looking increasingly unlikely at the moment (although never say never!) Halloween 2020 will still be worth celebrating. And this year it falls on a Saturday! “Venturing to describe Halloween in 2020 is like using a crystal ball,” laments Palmer Agencies’ sales director Sergio Battaner. “We believe Halloween will happen, but in a different capacity. Out the window are the usual pub and club best-dressed competitions, with packed premises trying to squeeze in as many people as possible.” “As lockdown eases all over the world and we move into a (hopefully) temporary new normality, distances and space are more important than ever,” he continued. “Having said that, we believe that by this point, smaller gatherings will be allowed.”
Balloon Boos
“As retailers across Europe begin to open their doors again, the question facing everyone is how to best prepare for the future. Balloon professionals are preparing their product orders ready for re-opening, so everyone is thinking about how customers will shop and what will they shop for. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year and has the potential to be a big celebration – although it may not be celebrated in quite the same way as before. From a balloon point of view, we would expect many of the trends we have seen rise over the last few months to continue, with a focus on deliverable bouquets and party backdrops. We expect demand for Qualatex Microfoil and Bubble Balloon designs to continue to trend up – while Northstar Boo scripts and letters will help make excellent ‘party at home’ backgrounds for Zoom parties.” Julie Dommett, head of marketing, Pioneer Europe These limited capacity parties will be the primary way that people are able to celebrate, combining the desire to party with the need to play it safe and follow guidelines. “We believe these micro house parties will drive demand of décor and animated props through the roof,” he continued. “As each party will have
JUNE 2020 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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25/06/2020 10:43