The sixteenth edition of Iceberg partner Meetings Africa has taken place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. The flagship trade show of SANCB (South African National Conventions Bureau) drew together some 161 buyers and 216 exhibitors from 13 African countries, to focus on sector recovery. From Conference & Meetings World…
IMEX in Frankfurt has barred all Russian state enterprises from exhibiting at the show in May in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Iceberg partner’s Group CEO Carina Bauer and its Chairman Ray Bloom posted the decision in a statement on social media which also offered Ukraine sipport. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner UFI, the global association of the exhibition sector, has released the latest edition of its flagship Global Barometer. Figures highlight the quickening pace of the industry’s recovery in 2022 after the continuing impact of the pandemic throughout 2021. The results vary between locations, primarily driven by reopening dates for exhibitions.. From Exhibition World…
Three industry associations have published a white paper calling on governments to harness the power of business events to stimulate their economies. “Business Events are the Fast Track to Recovery” documents support for the return of the sector and is the work of AIPC, ICCA and UFI, all Iceberg partners. From Association Meetings International…
A new 230,000 square metre convention centre is to be built in Dallas next to the current Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Work on the $2 billion venue is set to start in 2024 and complete in 2028. The new facility is expected to almost double annual attendance and associated convention revenue for the city. From Association Meetings International…
Marjorie Anderson, the Founder of Community by Association, tells the Deep Dive podcast how associations should be addressing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). After definitive definitions of DEI, the conversation looks at how to be more inclusive at conferences, accommodating those delegates with impaired hearing or mobility, or with neurodiversity or photosensitivity. From Association Meetings International…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen international associations with either Russian or Belarusian members, or exhibitors, or events planned, forced to take hard decisions fast, and hold difficult discussions about ending or suspending long-standing, lucrative collaborations. Ioannis Pallas, the European Society of Association Executives’ Association Manager, offers a guide. From Associations Meetings International…
International Women’s Day, which has now been marked for over a century, offers the opportunity to remember the key conferences and other events that have helped move the needle on women’s rights. The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (pictured) in Beijing, China, featured participation by future Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. From PCMA…
Australia’s recent reopening to the world, and the lifting of domestic border closures and restrictions, makes this an important moment in the county’s business events sector. Andrew Hiebl, the CEO of AACB (the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux), discusses the upcoming pipeline plus Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund. From Association Meetings International…
Over thirty charities have benefited from the materials used at last year’s COP26 as part of the positive legacy of the UK’s largest business event ever, which was held in Glasgow. Identity Group, which delivered the meeting for the UK’s Government and venue SEC, tasked Event Cycle with redistributing materials. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Early in the pandemic, Quebec City Convention Centre’s Director of Building Management and Event Support Marc Poirier was shocked at how many masks were ending up in the venue’s rubbish. He set to work finding a partner to reuse them. Also in Quebec, Go Zero Recycle has developed the process. From PCMA…
Dubai is growing its knowledge-based, diversified economy almost as quickly as it grows its skyline. Aiding this ambition is Expo Dubai 2020, an “accelerator and amplifier” in attracting associations and their meetings. When organisers first won the bid, they created two masterplans, one for Expo itself and one for its legacy. From Association Meetings International…
This global census covers all exhibition venues with a minimum of 5,000 square metres of gross indoor exhibition space. Regionally, Europe is home to 39 percent of the world’s total venue capacity, followed by the Asia-Pacific region (32 percent) and North America (20 percent). In terms of size, the number of “mega venues” (those with…
Re-imagining the future of events during a global pandemic is one of the industry’s biggest challenges. During the 2020 ICCA Congress, Iceberg partner ICCA delivered the Kaohsiung Protocol as a strategic recovery framework to guide the global meetings and events industry forward. Now, thanks to the guidance and input of its global community, ICCA is…
This report does its best to lean on both empirical evidence and highly credible opinion, that give a glimpse into both the immediate and long-term futures the industry faces. It looks at the past to predict the future, but also finds “grass root” trends that may grow to dominate how the sector goes about its…
The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe has published a white paper on The Future Role and Purpose of Convention Bureaux, providing a shared vision of the convention bureau of the future and a visionary roadmap for further developing the role of convention bureaux in the coming decade. Intended as a conversation…
Malaysia’s MyCEB, with help from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Economic Planning unit, will soon introduce a 3R (Reset, Restart and Responsible) recovery programme for business events. MyCEB will reduce travel costs to Malaysia for international delegates, and provide full COVID-19 insurance and PCR test costs. From TTGmice…
The CTA’s (Consumer Technology Association) CES 2022 has run as a live show of over 45,000 attendees in person, along with a virtual event. The show’s organisers deemed it a success, despite some well known participants, among them Amazon, Google and Microsoft, pulling out of the live show because of Omicron. From Associations Now…
London has won its bid to host the biennial Ecocity World Summit 2023, following support from the Mayor of London, London Councils, the UK Government and others. A legacy project will construct a brand new piece of green infrastructure for the capital, developed via a collaborative process. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner the IMEX Group has posted new dates for IMEX Frankfurt 2022. Organisers say they are now intending to run their trade show from May 31st to June 2nd and to give the global meetings, incentive travel and events industry a further five weeks to prepare after Omicron chaos. From Conference News…
The dawn of 2022 saw organisers of international association meetings grappling with more restrictions as governments tried to curb spread of the new Omicron variant. Across the world countries tightened their rules about who could travel and where people could meet as the highly infectious strain caused a massive surge in cases. From Association Meetings International…
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