Reflecting on 2020: Resilience, Reinvention and What Went Right

TLDR: Despite COVID shutdowns, The Big Smoke Events pivoted from in-person scavenger hunts to virtual and hybrid experiences, stayed true to their values, grew from one product to seven, expanded from two cities to 20+ countries, launched five languages, formed new partnerships, raised £2,000 for Mind, and closed December as their biggest month.

As Lockdown 3.0 begins and a new year unfolds, we at The Big Smoke Events have taken a moment to pause and reflect – not just on the challenges of 2020, but on what went right.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (and honestly, sometimes we wish we had), you’ll know that March 2020 turned the world upside down. Almost overnight, the events industry came to a complete standstill, forcing businesses everywhere to rethink how they operated.

As an events start-up whose entire offering was built around in-person, mass-participation Scavenger Hunts, we were faced with a huge challenge. Pivoting to virtual events wasn’t just a nice idea – it was a necessity.

It wasn’t easy. But it was essential.

Adapting Without Losing Who We Are

Early on, we made the decision to diversify our offering and invest fully in virtual and remote-friendly team experiences. That shift didn’t just help cushion the initial impact – it opened the door to new opportunities we’d never previously imagined.

By staying true to our core values – connection, creativity and fun – we were able to adapt without losing our identity. For a start-up, that balance is critical. And we’re incredibly proud to say that December 2020 became our biggest month of all time.

There’s still a long road ahead, and the impact of the early part of the year was significant – but we can confidently say: we survived.

Our Top 5 Big Smoke Highlights of 2020

Looking back, here are a few moments we’re especially proud of:

  • We started the year with one product – and ended it with seven, with another exciting launch just around the corner

  • In 2019, we ran events in two core cities; in 2020, we delivered events across more than 20 countries

  • Our Scavenger Hunt is now available in five languages (it had previously only existed in English)

  • We launched a new and growing partnership with Ping Pong Fight Club

  • We raised over £2,000 for Mind, through self-run fundraising events

A New Era for Events

We’ve seen first-hand how virtual events can connect global teams, drive innovation, create highly focused engagement and – most importantly – bring joy and laughter during a time when people needed it most.

The growing role of digital platforms in our lives means that a virtual element is here to stay. Even as the desire to reconnect in person returns, hybrid and virtual experiences will remain a vital part of the events landscape.

After all, humans are social creatures. There will always be a need to come together – whether online or in real life – and we’ll be here to make that happen.

A Final Thank You

Finally, we want to say a huge thank you to our incredible clients. We simply wouldn’t have made it through 2020 without your trust, support, repeat bookings, feedback and reviews.

We can’t wait to see you all again – and if you haven’t yet experienced one of our events, check out our promo video below to see what we’ve been up to.

Here’s to connection, creativity and better days ahead.

The Big Smoke Team x

About the Author: Francesca Hubbard

Founder, creative force, and the heart behind our people-first culture. Fran built Big Smoke from a weekend hobby into 2,000+ events through warmth, detail, and genuine fun.