London’s threatened QEII Centre has had its most successful financial year to date, achieving a £14.2 million turnover in 2017/18, an increase of 24 percent on the previous year. A £15m capital investment project and rebrand began at the venue in 2013, since when turnover has increased by 48 percent and occupancy ratio by 38 percent. From Meetpie.com…
Glasgow is to host the 2020 World Congress on Computational Intelligence, a flagship event of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This brings to twelve the IEEE meetings the city has won since 2015, which have attracted 8,000 delegates in total and contributed £14.8 million to the local economy. From Association Meetings International…
Liverpool has secured two high-profile medical meetings likely to generate £15m for the city, says conference venue ACC Liverpool. The venue will host the International Orthoptic Association’s congress in 2020, and the Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology the same year. 1,000 and 3,500 delegates are respectively expected. From Association Meetings International…
Blackpool saw the biggest growth in UK overnight business travel in 2017, with 55 percent more room nights than in 2016. The upsurge comes ahead of the town’s new £25 million conference and exhibition centre, set to open in 2019. According to new research there is significant growth also from Peterborough, Preston and Bradford. From Meetpie.com…
As UK firms must now submit gender pay gap data, it is clear that women working at large event agencies are on average paid less than men. But gender pay gaps and staffing makeup are separate issues. If there are still more men at the top, is this for men to address? From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
Puma has been accused of glamorising crime after hosting a drug and gang-themed party in central London. The sportswear brand invited people to its House of Hustle party in an abandoned Soho mansion by sending out wads of fake £50 notes and ‘trap phones’: less traceable low-tech handsets used by drug dealers. From Meetpie.com…
The organiser of the UK Rail Industry Awards has apologised after the ceremony featured a mock terror assault. The awards at Battersea Evolution were being held on the first anniversary of the Westminster Bridge attack. As well as the spoof terror stunt, complaints were also made about language and humour used during the event. From Meetpie.com…
Clarion Events has expanded its US operation with the acquisition of PennWell Corporation, a privately-held events, B2B media and marketing services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The estimated $300m deal creates one of the largest events companies in the world and follows Clarion’s 2015 purchase of Urban Expositions, now rebranded as Clarion UX. From Meetpie.com…
Sheffield has hailed the success of its ambassador programme for attracting iSchools’ annual international iConference to the UK for the first time. Val Gillet, Professor of Cheminformatics at the University of Sheffield’s Information School, helped bring more than 450 delegates to the event at the city’s Diamond Building. Photo: Chemical Engineer. From Association Meetings International…
When the Chicago-based Society of Architectural Historians ran its 70th Annual International Conference, it left the US for the first time in forty years and visited Glasgow. The Glasgow Convention Bureau, VisitScotland, and the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow all helped showcase the local built environment and start a wider conversation about the future of cities. From Skift…
Building on the success of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Korea Tourism Organisation is organising a series of roadshows across Europe and America to promote South Korea as a conference and meeting destination. Vienna, Brussels, New York, Washington and London are on the itinerary, and several of Korea’s convention bureaux are exhibiting. From Association Meetings International…
As reported in News, event professionals braved snow and icy conditions to attend the 31st M&IT Awards. From tales of just how difficult the arctic journey was for some, to the backstage excitement no awards should be without, the ceremony turned out to be one of the best ever. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
ACC Liverpool is celebrating ten years since it opened its doors. The venue has hosted more than 1,000 conferences over that time. It has welcomed more than 850,000 delegates, and the campus, home to BT Convention Centre, Echo Arena Liverpool and Exhibition Centre Liverpool, has generated £1.45 billion for the city region. From Meetpie.com…
UK tourism minister Michael Ellis has confirmed his willingness to offer more support to the industry in a meeting with the Business Visits and Events Partnership. Ellis replaced predecessor John Glen after a cabinet reshuffle in January. Topics raised included international competitiveness and education, skills and professional development including bespoke apprenticeship schemes. From Meetpie.com…
A new £30 million hall at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre is now open for events. Able to accommodate up to 10,000 attendees, the purpose-built 20,000 square metre centre is located at the home of the Farnborough International Airshow and is already booked for Screwfix Live, Merchandise World and Kidz to Adultz South. From Meetpie.com…
Event professionals braved snow and freezing conditions at London’s Battersea Evolution to attend the 31st M&IT Awards. Glasgow Convention Bureau won Best UK Convention Bureau. ACC Liverpool won Best UK Conference Centre for the sixth year running, and Fast Forward 15’s Fay Sharpe was named Personality of the Year, amongst other winners. From Meepie.com…
“2017 was a good year for UK meetings industry sales growth” reports Louise Goalen, Chair of HBAA, as the HBAA Meetings Barometer results for 2017 are revealed. The average spend per meeting and average spend per delegate in the UK both grew significantly year on year in 2017, despite a slight decline in the average…
Average spend both per meeting and per delegate grew significantly in the UK during 2017, says the HBAA Meetings Barometer. The research, developed with The MeetingsBenchmark, also shows the average daily delegate rate down slightly. 2017 was a good year for UK meeting sales, with 2018 on course to be even better. From Meetpie.com…
Events have been called off across the UK after heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures. In Edinburgh a job fair at the Assembly Rooms was postponed until May. In London a dinner organiser found half his guests having problems attending, then some of the chefs. “Doughnuts work at a formal event right?!” he tweeted. Photo: Derek Harper. From Meetpie.com…
EventWell has launched as the new social enterprise and educational resource for industry professionals, following on from an inaugural wellbeing campaign and official event week for the UK sector EventWell17. A board of eight professionals will oversee initial planning, creating awareness, and collating on eventwell.org of research, then the organising of EventWell18 this September. From Meetpie.com…
New events in Bournemouth are to deliver a £100m boost to the local economy over the coming three years. The meetings, held at both Bournemouth International Centre and Bournemouth Pavilion, will attract thousands of visitors, industry professionals and delegates to the south coast. They will also support more than 4,500 local jobs. From Meetpie.com…
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