The Global Forum is the ideal opportunity for decision-makers considering hosting an event in a BestCities’ destination, to meet all the partner cities and meeting planners in one stunning location. Participating associations will return home with a tangible tool to use in the formation of future strategies for their associations. The tool can after Global…
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…
In 2017 Iceberg partner European Cities Marketing, in partnership with Toposophy, published eight bold statements in The Future of DMOs: The ECM Manifest that set out a vision for what DMOs (destination marketing organisations) could and should become. The final of these statements warned of ‘‘The New Normal’’, a world in which ‘‘crises of every kind have…
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…
Emergency hospital beds to serve a total of 1,200 patients have now all been installed in New York City at the Javits Convention Center. The units built across the main exhibition floor were constructed to relieve the pressure on New York City hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases. Venues elsewhere are also being readied. From PCMA…
The 13th International Conference on Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes has just been held in Madrid, Spain. Despite massive event cancellations due to the COVID-19 crisis, the meeting brought together more than 3,800 healthcare professionals from 81 countries, start-ups and investors, reaching a new delegate record. From Boardroom…
Many DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) have started to realise the true value of meetings and are tracking the social outcomes they deliver. Some governments include business events as part of policy. Karen Bolinger, Strategic Advisor at Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance, talks “beyond tourism” legacies. From City / Nation / Place…
As a founding member of twenty years’ standing, the departure of Edinburgh from Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance came as quite a shock. BestCities’ new MD Lesley Williams felt the loss very keenly, having in the past spent seven years as Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner BestCities Global Alliance is marking its 20th year on the back its Copenhagen Global Forum in December. Madrid has been announced as taking on the baton of the 2020 event, under the banner strapline of “Developing Legacy Together”. In Copenhagen, eighteen international association executives attended. From Meetings International…
Homeless hackathons, like those being held this year in Edinburgh, Montreal, Barcelona, Dundee and London, are one way for meetings to tackle this pressing social issue. The MD of organiser Gallus Events recently had a personal experience of homelessness outside COP25, the UN Climate Change Conference, in Madrid. From Association Meetings International…
The “Incredible Impacts” grants celebrate the “beyond tourism” legacy value of international association meetings and their projects that are delivering positive social impact. A panel of independent judges from the association world determines which meetings have left a proven legacy, and award three grants of $7,500 on behalf of Iceberg partners BestCities Global Alliance and…
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…
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,…
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…
400 participants from 40 countries have gathered in Madrid for the World Hospital at Home Congress, the first event of its kind. Dr. Bruce Allen Leff, the event co-chair, said: “We talked a lot about the HaH community that this meeting has helped to build, but with this congress, we became a tribe”. From PCMA…
Big association conferences are often regarded as being at the very centre of the events universe, with long lead times and high returns, both in prestige and legacy. But professional congress organisers also create original events, like Kenes Group’s recent and “tribal” World Hospital at Home Congress (pictured). From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
All good destination management companies have a tale or three about how far they have gone in serving their clients’ very specific needs. From Girona to Madrid, here’s an eye-watering tale of a DMC willing to go the extra mile to bring home the bacon. Warning: not for the squeamish! From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Demonstrating the buoyancy of the exhibition industry, Madrid convention and exhibition complex IFEMA has said it should see three million visitors in 2017. Its revenue is forecast at €112.5 million, which represents more than 100 trade shows and congresses and over 500 events in all, including the 12,000 delegate World Dental Congress. From Association Meetings International…
As previewed by The Iceberg back in January, BestCities Global Alliance – an Iceberg partner – has now officially added Madrid to its roster of eleven other cities. The Madrid Convention Bureau is the first destination to go through BestCities’ revised quality management system. Events recently hosted by the Spanish capital include the World Petroleum Congress. From Meetings & Conventions…
The Spanish capital is becoming the 12th member of BestCities Global Alliance. From Meetings & Incentive Travel… BestCities Welcomes Madrid to Global Alliance
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