Stockholmsmässan in Sweden has now been set up as a field hospital to manage the current COVID-19 crisis, in joint partnership with the Swedish Armed Forces plus Region Stockholm and Locum. 140 beds were ready by the end of March, with 50 additional staff members preparing a further 600 for Easter. From Boardroom…
Adelaide has been doubly hit by bushfires and coronavirus, causing unemployment and food poverty. So the Adelaide Convention Centre and other venues of its parent operator are now using their big commercial kitchens to make tens of thousands of meals for food charities to send out into the community. From Boardroom…
The UAE Government has filed a formal request to postpone Expo 2020 Dubai due to the COVID-19 crisis. The proposed new dates are from October 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022, but the government has also asked BIE (the Bureau International des Expositions) for the official name to remain “Expo 2020 Dubai”. From Association Meetings International…
The UK’s Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage, Nigel Huddleston MP, has held an online discussion with over twenty industry CEOs about the government’s £70 billion fund for business events. Leaders from across destinations, event venues and creative agencies were asking whether the economic assistance was enough. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
CEO of ExCeL London Jeremy Rees has confirmed that the UK’s National Health Service is using the exhibition and conference venue free of rental fee. The Sunday Times had reported that the venue’s owners, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company, were charging the NHS £2-3 million per month. From Conference News…
Iceberg partner ICCA and CIMERT (Center of International Meetings Research and Training) have jointly monitored since February the status of meetings in the ICCA Association Database affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Based at Chengdu University, CIMERT has had fifteen students and three lecturers working virtually on the project. From the Event…
Last month Iceberg partner IMEX was forced to cancel its Frankfurt show. Group CEO Carina Bauer has spoken previously about the journey to cancellation, but now the Iceberg ambassador talks more about taking that difficult decision, and also about crisis management, team spirit and of course IMEX America. From EventMB…
In January, the Javits Center in New York was hosting a meet-and-greet for the American Kennel Club. Now the space is housing 2,600 hospital beds. Across the US the story is the same, inside venues like McCormick Place in Chicago and the Michigan Expo Center. But why choose them for this use? From Fast Company…
Once they relied on actors or even mannequins, but more and more medical associations now involve real patients in their congresses. Whether as speakers, panellists or co-designers, they add a different perspective. The result is meetings that are engaging, insightful and enlightening. From Association Meetings International…
Everything has changed. Meeting and travel are banned. Venues are hospitals. Events are online. We are learning so much about ourselves, but also need the world outside to learn about us and our £70 billion sector. Together we have to keep banging the drum. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
As the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 a pandemic, and the US announced more flight restrictions, so PDPW (Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin) was one week away from welcoming over 1,200 attendees to its annual Business Conference in Madison. Converting the meeting to virtual was the only way forward. From PCMA…
The coronavirus crisis has led to unprecedented interest in virtual events. For many organisers, this meant seriously looking into their possibilities, in some cases for the first time. But directly transposing the aims of a live event can mean missing the potential benefits of producing relevant and bespoke video content. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
New York’s Javits Center has been put to use in crises before. It was a command and control base for the Federal Emergency Management Agency after 9/11, and in 2012 also had minor government operations running after Hurricane Sandy. But the venue has never been used as a hospital until now. From PCMA…
Expo 2020 Dubai is almost certain to be postponed. Organisers said they wanted to show “solidarity” with the participating countries now fighting coronavirus. The event is likely to be put back a year, but a final decision should be made in June. Expo 2020 was hoping to attract eleven million visitors. From Association Meetings International…
COVID-19 has certainly decimated many meetings industry suppliers. But one Greater Seattle company has followed the lead of many big convention venues in repackaging its product to serve medical need. Alexander Party Rentals was hiring out large tents for conventions and special events. Now the business is in disaster response. From PCMA…
A major meeting of blood doctors will be held virtually because of the COVID-19 crisis. The 28th Congress of ISTH (the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis) was scheduled to take place in Milan this July. The USA-based association’s event typically draws over 3,000 delegates to the meeting. From Association Meetings International…
ExCeL London has become an emergency hospital, called NHS Nightingale, with the conference and exhibition centre being put into service to treat the expected surge in coronavirus patients. Other UK venues are also being prepared as ancillary hospitals: Birmingham’s NEC, Manchester Central and Glasgow’s SEC Centre. From Association Meetings International…
After the cancellation of the major industry meeting IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer has been reassuring the sector that her company is “full steam ahead” for IMEX America in September. The Iceberg partner also discussed how staff are working remotely, and what is being learnt in that process. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Under Australian restrictions on big gatherings during the coronavirus crisis, the organisers of technology conference QODE Brisbane chose to partner with YouTube and stream their event live around the world. In what is believed to be an Australian first, attendees were also able to visit exhibitor booths using virtual reality. From Boardroom…
German trade fairs have already been hit hard by COVID-19 crisis cancellations and postponements. Organisers and service providers are already suffering significant financial losses. AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, has now forecast a total loss to the German economy of around three billion euros. From UFI…
No kind of event is immune from the devastation coronavirus is causing. After weeks of speculation and amid mounting criticism, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President of the IOC Thomas Bach both agreed to reschedule the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021, the first break in four-year cycle since World War II. From Reuters…
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