Martin Sirk is International Advisor for Iceberg partner GAH (Global Association Hubs). In a sharp reality check for the business events sector, he warns that successful reopening relies on a much wider containment of the pandemic than the industry on its own can ever achieve. The economy and health are not zero-sum trade-offs or parallel-track…
As the pandemic wears on, respondents to the latest COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard have become more clear-eyed about its economic repercussions, but are still uncertain how best to plan for events in 2021. The new survey compares results from one month earlier and two previous bi-weekly surveys. Planners and suppliers have had another month under their…
The Global Destination Sustainability Index, an Iceberg partner, has just launched a new platform to help cities develop economic and social structures to make them fairer, more inclusive and more resilient places in which to live and work. The Global Destination Sustainability Movement steps forward from the GDS-Index’s foundations. From Association Meetings International…
Berlin’s business events industry is kickstarting the reopening of the city’s meetings and conferences, with outdoor events of up to 500 delegates allowed since June 16th. Commercial or private indoor events with up to 150 delegates have been allowed since June, and events with up to 300 from July. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has released a manifesto that sets out arguments as to why business events can and should be utilised to drive economic recovery and renewal in the post-COVID-19 era. The document was assembled with the advice and input of a broad range of industry leaders. This was…
The webinar that The Iceberg just produced on JMIC’s Manifesto for Economic Recovery Using Business Events contained a section on the document promoting the use of business events as a means of addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Fiona Pelham, the CEO of Iceberg partner Positive Impact Events, picks up that baton. COVID-19 has changed the…
Iceberg partners ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) and BestCities Global Alliance have announced that their “Incredible Impacts” grants, which awards associations leaving lasting legacies, are to return for their fourth year in a row, with the partnership also renewed for a further three years. Incredible Impacts is now open for submissions, and presents an opportunity…
During COVID-19 the meetings industry has pivoted to serve the community. Venues have become field hospitals, logistics networks have shipped personal protective equipment, and surplus food has also been donated. A new social contract is being written, explains Geneviève Leclerc, CEO of Iceberg partner #MEET4IMPACT. From European Cities Marketing…
The death of George Floyd, and of many others before him, prompted black meeting professionals in the US to share thoughts on their own experiences, the protests and the need for diversity in the industry. Those speaking out include Elliott Ferguson (pictured), President and CEO of Destination DC. From Northstar Meetings Group…
During 2018 MeetDenmark, with consultancy and Iceberg partner GainingEdge, began a major project on legacy. The study involved desk research on fifty international associations and fifty destinations as well as interviews with twenty from each of the two groups. Some of the findings on the current global landscape were published last year in the MeetDenmark…
A few things stood out in the latest COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard survey in which 515 business event professionals and 240 suppliers shared how they are envisioning and planning for the future. As the pandemic wears on and no clear plan for reopening the economy materializes, the business events community seems to be bracing for a…
IFEMA, the consortium behind Spain’s largest exhibition complex Feria de Madrid, wants to reopen in September and host over 60 events in the last four months of the year. After use as an emergency hospital during the crisis peak, the fairground aims to host the events postponed as a result. From Association Meetings International…
The best we can do during the COVID-19 crisis is to continue to learn from each other as we try to plan ahead in an uncertain and rapidly shifting world. Here are the results of the second PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) Convene biweekly check-in, conducted during the first week in May, to determine how…
As New Zealand entered Alert Level 3 on April 28th, so construction has restarted on WCEC (the Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre). Already slightly ahead of schedule, the 18,000 square metre venue is the capital’s first premium space for conferences and exhibitions. WCEC has also announced a virtual layout planning tool. From Boardroom…
COVID-19 has disrupted many things, including our sense of time. While the period of quarantining might seem interminable, our current reality and attempts to plan for the future have never been more fluid. The business events landscape used to take months and months to change. With the pandemic, it changed overnight and continues to evolve,…
In the weeks since the coronavirus outbreak has ravaged the industry, event professionals right across the globe have been uniting in the fight against the pandemic. Competitors have grouped together to provide expertise where most needed, like Live for Life and Go LIVE Together in the US, and also Events4Covid19 in Portugal. From EventMB…
The conscription of venues as field hospitals can be seen as one of the grimmer aspects of the COVID-19 crisis, but can also foster optimism and hope. Ana Carrazon, Congress Sales and Logistics Expert at IFEMA Feria de Madrid, has been working as a volunteer at the IFEMA Hospital. From Association Meetings International…
When life gives you lemons, there’s only one thing to do with them. The massive economic disruption aside, meetings professionals, venues and organisations have still found ways to support both each other and their communities. These include Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID), help in housing healthcare workers and donating food. From Associations Now…
From feeding workers on the front line, to making sure that food from cancelled events goes to the hungry and not to landfill, here’s a roundup of how organisations from across the business events industry have offered help during the pandemic, like the Los Angeles Convention Center and Levy Restaurant (pictured). From PCMA…
This AIPC and UFI guidance aims to help convention and exhibition centres prepare for and perform in an exceptional role they were not designed for but are increasingly being asked or forced to perform: as temporary emergency facilities. The immediate worldwide concern and context for this guidance is the COVID-19 pandemic. Convention and Exhibition Centres…
A nationwide initiative led by the American Hospital Association is working to ramp up production of the personal protective equipment (PPE) that healthcare workers need during the COVID–19 pandemic. The 100 Million Masks Challenge joins up manufacturers, community businesses and individuals to leave a life-saving legacy. From Associations Now…
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