An industry asked its government for attention, got it, and watched the government defund it mid-conversation. Parliament formally objected, demanded the cuts be reversed, and proposed moving the entire sector out of the culture department and into the trade department. David Adler translates the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee report into plain English…
In August, the Louder Together “congrestival” will take place in Antwerp, combining a conference and festival where children, young people and teaching artists from around the world convene in a lively mix of theatre festival and scientific conference, with a clear ambition to create societal impact. From Flanders Convention Bureau…
Copenhagen’s life science congresses are being asked to do more than convene international specialists. Through Valuable Meetings, a MeetDenmark project supported by the Danish Board of Business Development, the city is exploring how congresses can become active platforms for sector development, connecting global associations with Danish research, healthcare, companies and innovation networks. From Boardroom…
In partnership with The Meetings Show, event sustainability platform TRACE by Isla has created this series of interactive response cards to assist meeting planners in overcoming objections and making the case for management commitment to and investment in sustainable practices. Each card gives a comeback line with proof behind it and a practical next step.
From M&C/ASIA: An event aimed at tackling extreme heat was cancelled amid a record-breaking heatwave, turning a policy discussion into a live example of the risks climate experts have long warned about. The session, titled Extreme Heat: Improving Governance and Strengthening Action Around the World, was due to take place during London Climate Action Week…
Organised by the Association of Association Executives, the Associations World Congress took place in Portugal this year, setting up camp at the Lagoa Congress Centre and the Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort for three days of debate, collaboration, and an industry doing some serious reckoning with its own future. From Boardroom…
Founder and Chair of the Centre for Events and Festivals, Dr Mike Duignan provides academic credibility to the recently released Canadian Legacy & Impact Study Final Report, stating, “This is a simple but rigorous framework of legacy drivers.” Duignan argues that there is a critical need for alignment between governments, DMOs, event owners and organisers,…
Copenhagen Convention Bureau launched the Copenhagen Risk Navigator at this year’s IMEX, and explained that this comprehensive, practical collection of 14 different risk management tools has been custom-developed and made available freely to the entire business events community: destinations and organisers / owners, as well as industry suppliers. Developed by CCB in partnership with GainingEdge…
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Silvano joined Congrex Switzerland in 2010 and is a member of the company’s senior management team. He leads the Marketing, Sales, Communications and Sustainability divisions. His career began in the hospitality sector, and he has since accumulated more than twenty years of experience in the business events industry. Congrex Switzerland is one of Europe’s leading…
The value of a congress is increasingly assessed beyond attendance figures or immediate economic return – its significance lies in its capacity to reshape ecosystems, accelerate knowledge circulation, and anchor territories within global networks of influence. The SRS Annual Meeting 2025, hosted in Strasbourg, offers a particularly instructive example of this shift.
In a conversation with Guy Bigwood, the GDS-Forum 2026 emerges as a reflection of the meetings industry’s shift from ambition to accountability. Highlighting themes such as impact measurement, destination stewardship and regenerative development, the GDS-Movement CEO argues that stakeholders are increasingly demanding evidence of progress rather than sustainability pledges alone. From HQ Magazine…
Paul Coulson despairs at cuts to the business events team within VisitBritain whilst the sector is attracting major investment and widespread recognition of its utility as a driver of economic and societal value. It’s time for joined-up thinking by policymakers that respects the essential role business events marketing plays at a national level. From CMW…
Global Destinations Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) revealed the winners of Innovation, Impact, and new Changemaker Awards, recognising leading destinations driving positive transformation across the tourism and events sectors, during the GDS-Awards Ceremony, held as part of the GDS-Forum and Impact Day in Szczecin, Poland.
Held alongside the 2026 European Congress on Gynaecological Oncology, the ESGO Legacy event convened leading experts, policymakers, patient advocates and industry representatives in Copenhagen to advance sustainable improvements in women’s cancer care. “Imagine a Europe where your address no longer determines your survival,” outgoing ESGO Vice-President Associate Professor Maja Pakiz said as she opened the…
The Paris je t’aime Convention Bureau and Choose Paris Region recently jointly launched the Guichet Unique Grands Événements, a one-stop portal for major events. One team, one contact, one voice for events of 500 participants or more – across association congresses, corporate events and agency-led programmes.
The Sustainable Event Goals are 13 interlinked goals designed to minimise negative environmental and social impacts while maximising positive economic outcomes, and translating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into clear, actionable, event-specific guidance for organisers, suppliers, destinations, and partners across the global Business Events ecosystem. From Kenes Group…
The Policy Forum examines the current economic and political climate and reviews the latest policy developments affecting the events sector. In 2025, it attracted 300 senior leaders from destinations, venues, exhibition organisers, event agencies, associations and trade bodies. Attendees are joined by MPs who serve on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events, plus Ministers, officials…
Kai Hattendorf synthesises the views of a panel of global Business Events leaders who shared their perspectives during IMEX on resilience preparedness, leadership transitions, non-linear backgrounds as an asset, the necessity of better impact metrics, and “trust” as the industry’s USP in the AI era.
GainingEdge experts summarise this year’s GainingEdge Knowledge Exchange at IMEX Frankfurt, themed on risk management: the business events industry does not lack experience with crisis, but lacks a shared structure for managing it. That gap, and what the industry can do about it, is what the session spent an hour unpacking.
The 2026 edition of IMEX Frankfurt closed today, confirming its biggest show floor to date, combined with strong buyer and exhibitor numbers. The show (May 19-21) saw almost 3,000 exhibiting companies, from destinations and venues to tech providers and event agencies, all representing the breadth of a future-focused global industry.
Building on the Copenhagen Risk Assessment White Paper from 2023, the Copenhagen Risk Navigator 2026 aims to elevate risk management to a core business discipline across the entire international business events ecosystem. The Navigator equips organisations, associations and destinations with a shared framework and structured approach to understanding, prioritising, and mitigating risk.
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