Prague is better than any other city at engaging with its locally-based association leaders to secure big meetings and conventions, says a new report. The Czech Republic’s capital has a 95 percent “harnessing ratio”, according to the Leveraging Intellectual Capital second edition just compiled by Iceberg partner GainingEdge. From Association Meetings International…
An Iceberg partner publication just convened heads from association World Physiotherapy, from Iceberg partners Copenhagen Legacy Lab and BestCities Global Alliance, plus our own Founder James Latham, to discuss the nature of business event legacy, and what legacy means after COVID-19. From Association Meetings International…
A new research report published by Cities Restart called The Importance of International Conferences and Business Events to Restarting City Economies has revealed that spending on international conferences and business events for the UK is estimated to have been worth £19.4 billion in 2019, but following the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, by 2026 is forecast…
Meetings industry leaders have just convened at a roundtable to thrash out their strategy for the future of business events in Australia. The event was hosted by both Tourism Australia and the Business Events Council of Australia, whose Deputy Chair Geoff Donaghy (pictured) is also CEO of meeting venue ICC Sydney. From Conference & Meetings World…
Global convention sector consulting firm GainingEdge has launched the first annual report on leveraging the intellectual capital of convention destinations, based on an analysis of international association leadership. The research underpinning the Iceberg partner’s report identifies the relative strengths of 350 destinations via the presence of their local intellectual leaders in the governing bodies of international associations…
A new report names London the “intellectual capital” of the world. The study ranks destinations by the number of international association board members living in them. But the UK capital could attract more meetings by better “harnessing” its potential conference ambassadors. The report is from Iceberg partner GainingEdge. From Association Meetings International…
The impact of the pandemic on Australia’s business events is well documented. The Business Council of Australia has reported a loss of AU$35 billion in direct expenditure for Australia’s economy and over 230,000 jobs affected. But what about the country’s knowledge economy, asks ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy? From Meetings International…
Once the supply of event food was determined by the consumer. If a planner asked to have strawberries over winter or New Zealand lamb in Scotland, their whims were granted. Now more event venues around the world are implementing sustainable practices. Here’s a special report on those taking sustainability seriously. From Association Meetings International…
Unprecedented times mean unique collaborations. The Joint Meetings Industry Council has held a global webinar, delivered by The Iceberg and presented across four regional satellite events by four trade shows (AIME, IBTM, IMEX and Meetings Africa). JMIC was crowdsourcing ideas for an advocacy manifesto. From Conference & Meetings World…
Australia’s business events landscape is surveyed here in a rich collection of articles. BESydney’s Lyn Lewis-Smith, ICC Sydney’s Geoff Donaghy, ACC’s Simon Burgess, MCEC’s Peter King, Brisbane Marketing’s Juliet Alabaster, plus the team behind JMIC’s (the Joint Meetings Industry Council’s) case studies, all offer up viewpoints. From Meetings International…
The Australian Federal Government shut down all non-essential indoor events for over one hundred people on March 18th (then for more than two people on March 29th). Event venues like ICC Sydney no longer are able to deliver events. This is an unprecedented situation, says CEO Geoff Donaghy. From Boardroom…
With social impact moving ever higher up the business events agenda, ICC Sydney’s Legacy Program has set out to inspire conference organisers to make wider a contribution in the Australian host destination and beyond. Five streams of legacy creation guide associations and event planners towards the best fit for their own organisation. From Boardroom…
Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
Sydney will be hosting the world’s largest machine learning meeting in 2021. The annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems attracted 13,000 experts last week to Vancouver. The data science arm of Australia’s national science agency led the bid with BESydney, supported by the NSW Government. From CIM Business Events…
Gothenburg has lead Iceberg partner GDS-Index, the Global Destination Sustainability Index, for the fourth year running. The listing ranks sustainability performance in 50 business event destinations. At 58th ICCA Congress in Houston the GDS-Index Awards were announced as well, with Sydney receiving the Innovation trophy. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Convention centres are great places to exhibit the largest pieces of art. In Singapore, Sydney, Washington DC and Paris, four venues have placed significant works on display, from contemporary legends like Anthony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, to First Nations’ art in Australia, to Europe’s largest fresco (pictured). From Association Meetings International…
The Iceberg has always been dedicated to identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies lying hidden under the all-too-visible tip of travel and hospitality spending. So now it’s time to examine what lies beneath in a bracing new way. It’s time to take a deep breath and plunge “Below the Waterline”. In…
Support from a who’s-who of top Australian scientific minds has just secured ICME15 for Sydney in 2024. The International Congress on Mathematical Education is the largest event in its field, and was won by advocates including Australia’s Chief Scientist, one leading mathematician, and a YouTube sensation maths teacher. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Sydney is to welcome 36 global medical meetings over the next five years in a nod to its leadership in healthcare. BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said the support of local experts, and committed State and Federal Governments that have prioritised the sector, all played a huge part in BESydney’s winning streak. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Geoff Donaghy, ICC Sydney CEO, AEG Ogden Director Convention Centres and Iceberg Ambassador, just joined a panel at IMEX Frankfurt on placemaking (pictured). Here he discusses how an event precinct can sit at the heart of any destination’s placemaking strategy to drive its economic, cultural and social growth. From Geoff Donaghy via LinkedIn…
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A founding member of ICC Sydney’s leadership team, Sam developed the communications and marketing strategies that have resulted in establishing one of the business events industry’s strongest brands. Storytelling, building emotional connection and strong stakeholder engagement have been core to ICC Sydney’s successful brand development throughout its pre-opening, launch and operational phases. Sam steered the…
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