Business Events World – Issue 71

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FORTNIGHTLY ROUNDUP

Fortifying impact at the legacy-laden BestCities Global Forum 2019.

The final two weeks of the events year included the third major industry gathering in a row of one of our partners. This time it was the turn of the BestCities Global Forum in Copenhagen, with Lesley Williams being named BestCities’ new MD, and a highly creative piece of industry crystal ball gazing also being published (see Research). Here in the UK we also had a decisive general election, and in the US President Donald Trump got himself impeached. Aren’t things supposed to be slowing down over the holiday season?

In Research this issue of Business Events World and also on The Iceberg you’ll find added Lime Venue Portfolio’s Beyond Food: The Emergence of the Plant Menu. The way people eat at events is changing! A collection of industry associations together with Iceberg partner UFI has produced Economic Impact of Exhibitions in the United Kingdom, updating similar research from 2011. Plus, do spend some time with the fascinating The Future of Congresses: The Copenhagen Scenario Model from both Copenhagen Convention Bureau and Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance.

There are five new Features this issue. Our lead is a video review of the inaugural IBTM Global Policy and Practice Forum, held in partnership with The Business of Events. The film’s cast is a veritable who’s who of leading lights from across the sector, all of them contributing ideas about the intersection of business events’ legacy-leaving with government policy objectives.

Also in Features, this year Glasgow Convention Bureau launched the People Make Glasgow Healthier campaign, taking messages from a few key medical congresses out of the convention centre and into the community. These days Manchester is rising in positioning as a global conference destination. MeetDenmark has brought together its four largest meetings cities to launch a report on making international conventions more impactful for both associations and destinations. The report is already in Research, and was produced with Iceberg partner GainingEdge. Malaysia hopes that hosting of the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Biomechanics in 2023 will grow the field both nationwide and in the ASEAN region.

In News this issue, the events industry has reacted and urged vigilance in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack. The security concerns raised by the outrage have been circling around the sector for some time. During the UK General Election, the Business Visits and Events Partnership launched its very own campaigning manifesto. Also in London, industry experts participated in a roundtable at the QEII Centre about the legacies of business events. The debate followed an economic study of the venue from Grant Thornton. Plus, the UK capital’s progress in tackling HIV will be showcased when ExCeL London hosts the 2021 European AIDS Conference.

There are other bid wins aplenty in News this issue. Rimini’s environmental focus has secured the Italian resort city the 26th Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Tokyo has secured the 7th Asian and Oceanian Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Congress in 2021. The Scottish Event Campus has won three significant European meetings for 2023, attracting more than 10,000 delegates. Sydney will be hosting the world’s largest machine learning meeting in 2021. Plus, Business Events Sarawak at Sarawak Convention Bureau announced that the Malaysian state has secured its highest number of bid wins to date. Legacy Impact Assessment has counted 965 potential benefits from these 76 events.

As already mentioned, BestCities Global Alliance announced the appointment of Lesley Williams as Managing Director. She takes over from Paul Vallee, who will continue as executive consultant with GainingEdge. The latter has had its contract to manage BestCities extended. Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index and EarthCheck have signed an alliance to develop and launch specialised certification and services for business tourism, event and meeting cities. The Convention Centre Dublin has been named the world’s leading meetings venue at the 26th annual World Travel Awards in Oman.

In Opinions this issue, the London Bridge terror attack has had special resonance for meeting planners, since it began during an event at Fishmongers’ Hall. But lessons for the industry are complex. CEO Ian Edwards runs through the long consultation process that decided what ICC Wales needed to be. Carl Law, Development Manager at Capita Travel and Events, explains how both meeting venues and planners are using technology to solve different challenges. Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, has been speaking about business events and the emirate’s Economic Vision 2030. In what way does the purpose of destination management companies change in a market disrupted by the Internet? Pádraic Gilligan has some ideas is Istanbul.

Also in Opinions, Director of Marketing, Europe at Cvent Judy Elvey discusses how associations are more and more integrating sustainability into meetings. She also discusses her work with Iceberg partner Positive Impact. In October the One Young World Global Summit came to London, with organisers asking venue partners for wholly meat-free menus. Most conferences focus on success stories. But real learning also comes from what doesn’t go right. That’s the philosophy behind “Fail Festivals”. Plus, after this turbulent year, we have three inevitable summary of 2019 / crystal ball gazing for 2020 articles. They come from the Design Studio™ of Maritz Global Events, MD and CEO of the global association of the exhibition industry UFI Kai Hattendorf, and IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer, all of whom / which are Iceberg partners.

Finally, and as always, The Iceberg reiterates its call for you to join our Global Ambassador Program. You can see Ambassadors listed on The Iceberg homepage, Ambassadors page, and in Business Events World below. Visit Call for Ambassadors 2019 & 2020 to find out more.

Until the New Year and new decade from our festive Iceberg…

Robert Coren, Curator of The Iceberg