In the wake of the wildfires that erupted across the L.A. area on Jan. 7, the events and entertainment industry has come together to offer support, resources and aid to neighbors, friends, families and colleagues. Tonight, stars like Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Sting, Jelly Roll, Anderson .Paak and Stevie Nicks will be performing at the FireAid benefit concert at Intuit Dome and Kia Forum to gather donations for short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California.
The Grammy Awards set to take place Sunday will be reformatted to focus the evening on helping those affected by the wildfires. The Recording Academy also decided to condense its pre-Grammy week plans to just four events, each featuring a fundraising element, with several record labels and brands—including BMG, Sony, Spotify, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group—canceling plans and instead allocating resources to helping wildfire victims. Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy ceo, told Fast Company that these pivots were the result of conversations with state and local officials, first responders, and hospitality professionals.
AARP announced this week that its annual Movies for Grownups Awards, which was postponed due to the wildfires, will be held on Feb. 8 in Beverly Hills, CA, and AARP Foundation will donate proceeds raised from the awards event to local organizations to aid with the wildfire recovery efforts.
Many local event agencies are advocating for events to stay in L.A., and they’re doing what they can to keep business moving forward. AGENC put out a statement on its social media channels saying that the best way to help is to “keep your productions and events in L.A.”
“While many have been displaced and deeply impacted by the fires, many of us remain eager to work and rebuild,” AGENC’s Instagram statement reads. “Your events, shoots and productions bring life to our city and are essential to sustaining its vibrancy. Don’t cancel or move your plans, keep them in L.A. as planned—it’s a powerful act of support and solidarity so we can continue to rebuild the city many of us call home.”
Jordan Kaye, founder and ceo at Analog Events, says: “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster—sad, scary, uplifting and everything in between. But at the end of the day, events in L.A. must continue because they support so many people who rely on this industry.”
Kaye says he’s seen inspiring acts of generosity and creativity within his immediate community. For instance, a client donated beauty products from a canceled event to local teens, and Analog Events’ partner, The A List, launched a Stay in L.A. social campaign.
“It’s been a challenging time for everyone, to say the least. The wildfires have affected all of us in different ways, and it’s impossible to completely separate personal needs from work obligations during a crisis of this scale. Our priority, as a team, has been to ensure that safety and well-being come first,” Kaye says. “Still, as Hollywood often reminds us, ‘the show must go on,’ and we have to continue performing and producing for our clients. Balancing it all is far from easy, but it’s a reality we’re navigating one day at a time.”
We reached out to a few L.A.-based experiential and event agency professionals like Kaye to see how they’re doing and how they’re balancing the needs of their personal lives, teams and clients with Q1 demands and project timelines. Here, we share their perspectives on planning and producing events during disaster, and the impacts they expect the wildfires to have on events in the future.
Checking In
“It has definitely been a challenging time, and like many affected by the fires, we’re doing our best to balance the urgency of the situation with the needs of our work and personal well-being. We’re taking things day by day and shifting deliverables to our team members across the nation. The IMT family has shown incredible resilience, and though there are certainly tough moments, we’re staying focused and staying connected.”
–Chad Tons, Founder and CEO, Infinity Marketing Team
“About half of Xpedition lives in the SoCal area, and several team members have been evacuated as a result of the fires, so many are physically and emotionally impacted. We’re devasted by what’s happening to such a beautiful, creative city right now that so many of us call home. Though what’s happening is overwhelming and sad, we are also overwhelmed with the kindness, consideration and support Xplorers have shown one another during this time. We were immediate to share that safety and health come first without any qualifiers, as well as offer financial assistance to those in emergency need, and everyone truly stepped up to help each other… We are ‘business as usual,’ but for the right reasons, in that people are openly asking for help if they need it and others genuinely want to do what they can.”
–Niki Herr, COO, Xpedition
“The wildfires have been a challenging time for our team. The air quality has been hazardous, and many of our team members have been juggling work while being evacuated from their homes. There’s also uncertainty around projects in the L.A. area and clients who have been impacted personally. At MKG, we’ve set the tone that our team’s well-being takes priority. We’re lucky to have a kind, smart community of humans (and clients) who understand that. We’re doing our best to drive business forward because maintaining a stable work environment matters, but health and safety come first.”
–Lauren Austin, CCO, MKG
‘The Strength of Community’
“It has been truly inspiring to see how the community has come together. People have been incredibly supportive—checking in on neighbors, GoFundMe donations, offering help where they can, and sharing resources to ensure everyone is safe and taken care of. IMT is playing a vital role in these efforts by contributing through local volunteer initiatives, coordinating donation drop-off points and organizing virtual relief funds. While the situation is undoubtedly tough, the compassion and willingness to pitch in has been a beautiful reminder of the strength of community.”
–Chad Tons, Founder and CEO, Infinity Marketing Team
“It’s been inspiring and heartwarming to see L.A. coming together and so many people across the country and world rallying to support those who have been so terribly impacted by the fires. Our team has done an amazing job supporting each other during this time. In particular, it’s been overwhelming to see how our L.A. community has stepped up, offering shelter, supplies and anything else needed to their peers. They extended this kindness to the community last week by volunteering at the Downtown L.A. YMCA.”
–Lauren Austin, CCO, MKG
Future Impacts on Events
“The events industry in L.A. has already shown remarkable resilience, bouncing back from significant challenges like the SAG and writers’ strikes last year and the long recovery from COVID-related shutdowns. These experiences taught us how to adapt under pressure. And now, the environmental footprint of events will likely come under greater scrutiny. We’re starting to see more conversations around sustainability and how event planning can align with climate-conscious practices… Ultimately, the wildfires are forcing us all—communities and industries alike—to reassess priorities and plan with resilience in mind. For a city like L.A., where large-scale events are integral to the culture and economy, this adaptability is going to be critical.”
–Jordan Kaye, Founder and CEO, Analog Events
“We’re seeing event cancellations in the immediate aftermath, but we’re hopeful that L.A. events will bounce back quickly. The L.A. community needs the economic boost and work that events bring to the city. As long as air quality is safe for hosting events and resources aren’t being diverted from fire relief and cleanup efforts, we’re working with our clients to ensure that events come back with a force. The biggest hurdle is optics for brands. No brand wants to appear as if they’re celebrating in the wake of the fires, but with thoughtful planning, we’re confident events can resume in a way that feels respectful and supportive of the community.”
–Lauren Austin, CCO, MKG
“L.A. is a wonderfully resilient city, and the outpouring of generosity and community is a testament to its ability to come back from this. That being said, it is a stark reminder that, like hurricane season in the South and blizzards in the North, California is not immune from seasonality. Though we expect fire season to continue to be a point of discussion—it already was if you were guiding your clients appropriately—we see the impact coming more in the form of higher costs in low fire season and lower costs in high as time progresses. We believe L.A. will continue to be one of the most highly desired event locations in the world.”
–Niki Herr, COO, Xpedition
