BIE (the Bureau International des Expositions) has just unanimously agreed to postponing Expo 2020 Dubai. The rescheduled event will become a global celebration that the COVID-19 crisis is over. There are precedents for postponement across the past history of world fairs, and Dubai’s own back catalogue has seen other milestone events. From Meetings International…
The UAE Government has filed a formal request to postpone Expo 2020 Dubai due to the COVID-19 crisis. The proposed new dates are from October 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022, but the government has also asked BIE (the Bureau International des Expositions) for the official name to remain “Expo 2020 Dubai”. From Association Meetings International…
Expo 2020 Dubai is almost certain to be postponed. Organisers said they wanted to show “solidarity” with the participating countries now fighting coronavirus. The event is likely to be put back a year, but a final decision should be made in June. Expo 2020 was hoping to attract eleven million visitors. From Association Meetings International…
Most ambitious destinations market meetings by targeting key economic growth sectors and by making good use of knowledge economy assets. GAHP, the Global Association Hubs Partnership, links up four such cities with strong association ecosystems and support. GAHP is also a partner of The Iceberg. From Association Meetings International…
GESS Dubai is a global exhibition showcasing educational products, plus a CPD accredited conference. Held at the end of February, the 13th edition of the show was to feature a Chinese pavilion with 30 companies confirmed as exhibiting. Ten, plus one more international exhibitor, cancelled participation because of the COVID-19 crisis. From UFI…
Associations sit right at the heart of the legacy debate in business events. During the recent Dubai Association Conference, sessions focused on both the societal legacies they can leave and the strategies necessary to leave them. The emirate itself is a major hub for the sector, having set up the Dubai Association Centre in 2014….
The 15th Meetings Africa has just been hosted in Johannesburg at the Sandton Convention Centre. South Africa National Convention Bureau Chief Convention Bureau Officer, Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo (pictured), spoke at the opening address, and one keynote addressed Expo 2020 Dubai, at which all 54 of the African nations will be participating. From Exhibition World…
A recent Twitter #Expochat devoted an entire session to the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on US and global exhibitions. Industry leaders including Kai Hattendorf, MD and CEO of Iceberg partner UFI, talked through the shows being cancelled or seeing major absences from their Chinese delegations. Far more are going ahead than not. From UFI…
Laboratory medicine in the Middle East is now experiencing healthy growth. The trend helped Medlab Middle East 2019, the region’s largest sector exhibition and congress, to generate over $152 million of business, with $329 million more in deals twelve months after the show. The 2020 edition has just wrapped up. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
As a founding member of twenty years’ standing, the departure of Edinburgh from Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance came as quite a shock. BestCities’ new MD Lesley Williams felt the loss very keenly, having in the past spent seven years as Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Dubai Business Events chalked up 301 successful bids for meetings, conferences and incentives in 2019. Set to attract over 150,000 delegates in coming years, the wins will deliver around 620,000 room nights for the emirate. DBE’s Al Safeer Congress Ambassadors Programme grew to 342 active ambassadors in 2019. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance is marking its 20th year on the back its Copenhagen Global Forum in December. Madrid has been announced as taking on the baton of the 2020 event, under the banner strapline of “Developing Legacy Together”. In Copenhagen, eighteen international association executives attended. From Meetings International…
Expo 2020 Dubai is set to welcome over 25 million visitors from 192 countries between October 2020 and April 2021. Organisers have teamed up with more than 1,000 authorised ticket resellers in key markets to drum up interest in the event. This network will make the World Expo the most international ever. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
“The majority of disabled people don’t travel to conferences because they expect their needs will not be met”. So says Alan Broadbent, an accessibility writer and consultant to the events industry. Three examples of inclusivity, a venue (ICC Wales), a meeting (Glasgow’s IASSIDD World Congress) and a city (Dubai), are analysed. From Association Meetings International…
Dubai Business Events, the emirate’s convention bureau, won 82 bids for international meetings, conferences and incentive travel groups in the third quarter of 2019. The events, all secured from July to September, are set to attract over 29,200 delegates from around the world, re-affirming Dubai’s status as a premier meetings destination. From Association Meetings International…
The fourth meeting of Dubai’s City Readiness Committee, which brings together the major parties involved, has declared all the preparations for Expo 2020 to be on track. The body coordinates both local and federal entities. It is now just a year before the six month event, with 25 million visits expected. From Meetings International…
Dubai is strengthening its networks to become a meetings hub in medical sciences. The emirate’s healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are set to be worth $71.3 billion by 2020. Convention bureau Dubai Business Events has signed six Memorandums of Understanding so far in 2019 to attract more meetings to the city. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
During the 2017 Dubai Association Conference, the impact generated by associations was a key theme. Two years on, the second edition of the conference this December at the Dubai World Trade Centre will focus on the larger roles played across global society and “the societal impact of associations”. From Boardroom…
Shaun Vorster is Vice President of Business Integration and Activations at Dubai’s Expo 2020. Here he talks about that role, shares information on what to expect at the October 2020 launch, and discusses the place legacy holds in shaping both the programming of Expo 2020 and the afterlife of its venues. From the Event…
Dubai Business Events, the emirate’s convention bureau, has secured 118 business events during the past six months, attracting 75,200 delegates to the city. The meetings include the World Hospital Congress 2021, the ISPRS Geospatial Week 2021, and the AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress 2025. From Association Meetings International…
How can associations grow in a manner that creates a positive impact on society? This is the key question the five-year-old Dubai Association Centre is aiming to address this December at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the second edition of the Dubai Association Conference. Impact and legacy will be centre stage. From Boardroom…
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