The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg may have grabbed more headlines, but meetings and events leaders also got to address some of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the industry during a panel debate at UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. Article includes full video from the session. From Association Meetings International…
The US Congress has just voted to renew funding and thus rescue the nation’s destination marketer Brand USA as part of a $1.4 trillion budget package. The reauthorisation comes with a changed funding structure, and a rise in the cost of America’s online visa waiver programme ESTA from $14 to $21. From Skift…
Congress organisers at ESTRO, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, are requiring host destinations bidding for their events to help them connect with local communities and create lasting legacies in cancer care. They are doing so through the running of so-called “engagement projects”. Ideas for such initiatives, typically with stakeholder involvement from cancer specialists,…
In comes another year, and with it yet another list of trends to watch on the horizon. Events will deliver personalised experiences with the aid of artificial intelligence. Plus, sustainability, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and flygskam (flight shaming) are also on the map, as is Q and A 2.0, Conversation and input. From PCMA…
Convention centres let architects push the limits of creative design and pioneer innovative solutions. With seventeen decades of venue architecture behind us, the 1850 Bingley Hall in Birmingham being the first example, here are five extraordinary modern venues. Photo: R. Elton. From Association Meetings International…
Sustainability is high on the events industry agenda. COP25’s Events Industry Council panel discussed vegan menus, recyclable cups and refillable bottles. Britain’s Brexit is shaking up supply chains and may encourage local sourcing. Iceberg partner Positive Impact is engaging the industry in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Last December Mariela McIlwraith, Director of Industry Advancement at the Events Industry Council, went to the UN Climate Conference COP25 in Madrid. There she took part in a panel discussion on the role of the meetings sector in bringing people together to act on climate. From the Events Industry Council…
Last month, just prior to IBTM World’s staging, the Iceberg partner’s inaugural Global Policy and Practice Forum was held in partnership with The Business of Events. Supporting the gathering were the Barcelona Convention Bureau, PCMA (the Professional Convention Management Association) and JMIC (the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg). The forum brought together…
This year Glasgow Convention Bureau launched the People Make Glasgow Healthier campaign, taking the messages from a few key medical congresses out of the convention centre and into the community. The conferences were able to create a deeper legacy for the city, with for example 180 people receiving lifesaving CPR training, From Boardroom…
Denmark has brought together its four largest meetings cities to launch a report on how to make international conventions more impactful for both associations and destinations. The starting point was a trawl of 500 publications globally on the topic, to collect the scattered legacy-driving content in one guidebook. From Boardroom…
Malaysia hopes that its hosting of the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Biomechanics in 2023 will help grow the field both nationwide and in the ASEAN region. Partners on the bid included the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Education. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Working with sister associations the Association of Event Venues (AEV) and the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA). the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) has compiled an economic impact study defining and measuring the significance of exhibitions to the UK economy. Using the Size and Scale Index for Events (SASiE) data, this new report was…
Sydney will be hosting the world’s largest machine learning meeting in 2021. The annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems attracted 13,000 experts last week to Vancouver. The data science arm of Australia’s national science agency led the bid with BESydney, supported by the NSW Government. From CIM Business Events…
Business Events Sarawak at Sarawak Convention Bureau has announced that the Malaysian state has made history by securing its highest number of bid wins to date. The news was broken at the annual BESarawak Appreciation Dinner. Legacy Impact Assessment has counted 965 potential benefits from these 76 events for Sarawak. From Meetings International…
The UK capital’s progress in tackling HIV will be showcased when ExCeL London hosts the 2021 European AIDS Conference. The city says 95 percent of patients are diagnosed, 98 percent are on therapy and 97 percent are virally suppressed. Many medical associations now choose London and ExCeL. Photo: Swadim. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
Industry experts from right across the sector have participated in a roundtable about the legacies of business events. The QEII Centre discussion covered the international impact of meetings, the recognition they receive and ways true legacy can be measured. The event also followed an economic study of the venue from Grant Thornton. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Rimini’s strong environmental focus has secured the Italian resort city the 26th Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Palacongressi di Rimini will host the annual event, which is expected to bring some 800 academics, researchers and scientists together in 2021. From AMI Intellectual Capitals…
The UK General Election has just given Prime Minister Boris Johnson a decisive mandate to “get Brexit done”. During the hustings, BVEP (the Business Visits and Events Partnership) also published its own campaign, “Events Deliver Growth, Jobs and Opportunities. A Manifesto for Britain’s Events Industry”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
England and Scotland have many established convention centres, but finding a home for one in Wales was problematic until Celtic Manor went fifty-fifty with the Welsh government on the £83 million ICC Wales. CEO Ian Edwards runs through the long consultation process that decided what the new venue should be. From Association Meetings International…
Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, has been speaking about the emirate’s Economic Vision 2030, and the part played in it by business events. New infrastructure includes Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company’s The Hive, and its 80-seat auditorium The Collaboratorium. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Iceberg is now identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies that lie hidden beneath the surface in a new podcast “Below the Waterline”. In the third of a series featuring major meetings industry players, Iceberg founder James Latham catches up with Sissi Lygnou, CEO, Operations and Development, at AFEA Travel & Congress…
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