Published by Centre for Events & Festivals: Dr Martin Schnitzer from University of Innsbruck makes the case that public trust is the new currency for hosting major events — and it’s in short supply. Mega-events often stumble when residents see them as “transactional” spectacles rather than “transformational” opportunities for long-term benefit. Destinations need to understand…
Last month, The Iceberg shared its introduction to three case studies of how the GDS-Award winning city is activating the attraction of business events to advance social, societal, and economic transformation, destination development, and positive change. “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do,” claimed Katarina Thorstensson, Head of Sustainability at the city’s destination…
From ICCA: Signed during IMEX 2025 in Frankfurt by ICCA CEO Dr. Senthil Gopinath and ESAE Managing Director Ioannis Pallas, the agreement affirms both organisations’ commitment to nurturing the next generation of association leaders and professionals, as well as contributing to one another’s ongoing research and development efforts.
From Boardroom: Long recognised for its hospitality, culture, and strategic position within Europe’s business events landscape, Barcelona is now working to embed long-term societal value into the very fabric of the events it attracts.
From Boardroom: As the European Green Deal is shaping various sectors in the continent, associations need to step up their game for advocacy and actively lead their sectors towards transformation. Few have risen to that challenge with the clarity and collaborative ambition of the European Boating Industry (EBI), which has just been awarded the 2025…
Ex-UFI CEO turned industry thought-leader Kai Hattendorf was ubiquitous at this year’s IMEX, challenging the industry to up its game in terms of global advocacy, arguing that this is even more critical than ever during a time of geopolitical flux and uncertainty, and then eloquently demonstrating in a series of interviews how to frame the…
Early pre-event collaboration between the city’s destination marketing organisation and congress organisers was key in designing high-impact outreach programmes involving schools and thousands of ordinary citizens, raising awareness of how to maintain lifelong liver health. From Amsterdam Convention Bureau…
Follow Geneviève Leclerc’s novel experiment through this series of LinkedIn posts, as she attempts to rigorously apply the “BE Impactful Framework” (designed to measure the overall business, intellectual and societal impact of an event) to her own PERSONAL impact and value gained from attending IMEX 2025 in Frankfurt.
The 2025 IMEX Gala was the setting for the sector’s leading associations to present awards recognising star individuals within their communities who are raising awareness of the enormous long-term economic and societal impact of business and scientific events, amongst both policymakers and citizens.
Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau has been the world leader in sharing its innovative work on event impact, creative event design and sustainability, recognising that encouraging competitors to embrace these changes will help the entire world of Business Events to increase its positive societal impact whilst reducing its carbon footprint, strengthening advocacy arguments for the entire…
Germany reports attendance figures back up to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. This is a useful report for those interested in communicating the enormous scale of the meetings sector in individual countries. 377 million attendees participated in approximately 2 million events in a single year! From Skift Meetings…
The second edition of the VisitBritain Business Events Association Conference, held at the ICC Wales 11-13th February, revealed the extent to which the sector has adopted the new impact & sustainability narrative – and tools – for effective congress bidding by the organisation’s key partners and stakeholders. This video of the event titled ‘Bid for…
The 7-times winner of the 8 GDS-Index Awards for Leadership, the city of Gothenburg in Sweden, share this long-awaited series from The Iceberg into the DMOs 3-part framework which provides a systematic approach to realising impact from business & professional events; The Gothenburg Way to Legacy… In this 4-part mini-series, we begin with an introduction…
HIV Glasgow, the HIV Drug Therapy Conference held in the medical hub city, has become the curator of data, the summary of knowledge from other international conferences focussed on the treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS. But the legacy is truly unique… The 2025 edition revealed the circularity of a non-profit event dedicated to…
By Matthias Schultze, Managing Director, German Convention Bureau: How Business Events Can Adapt to Megatrends and Unlock Future Business Potential Business events remain vital arenas for innovation and strategic dialogue. Yet, in a rapidly changing world shaped by technological, societal and environmental shifts, these platforms are undergoing transformation themselves. In its most recent research phase,…
Whilst there are unique Brexit-related challenges facing the UK and European Union with regard to cross-border events delivery and collaboration, the issues raised are relevant for all regions of the world. Business Events are collaborative, internationally-minded, complex and fast-moving: the more work visa restrictions apply to our sector, the more we will be held back…
Whilst there are unique Brexit-related challenges facing the UK and European Union with regard to cross-border events delivery and collaboration, the issues raised are relevant for all regions of the world. Business Events are collaborative, internationally-minded, complex and fast-moving: the more work visa restrictions apply to our sector, the more we will be held back…
Produced by the German Convention Bureau (GCB), with data collected from nearly 5,000 venues and 3,000 event organisers, the “Meeting & Event Barometer Germany 2024/2025” provides in-depth analysis of the German congress and event market: an excellent model for other countries wishing to produce annual “state of the market” reports.
From Boardroom: Copenhagen has recently earned the EarthCheck Sustainable Destination Certification, a distinction held by only a select number of locations globally. This internationally recognised third-party accreditation further validates the Danish capital’s long-standing commitment to climate action, particularly within the tourism and meetings sector. The certification is the result of a close partnership between Wonderful…
From Global Destination Sustainability Movement, by Guy Bigwood: I am just back from participating at Prolight + Sound – one of the world’s most important entertainment tech shows all about audiovisuals (AV), sounds, lighting, and more. Organised by and at Messe Frankfurt, Mira Wölfel, the Director of Prolight + Sound, kindly invited me to deliver…
From City Destinations Alliance: Held from April 9 to 11, 2025, in the heart of Hungary’s vibrant capital, the City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA) International Conference & General Assembly brought together over 250 tourism leaders, destination experts and changemakers from across Europe to explore how cities can drive business transformation through the visitor economy. Under the…
Powered by 
