An officer of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has called on the meetings industry urgently to speed up action on climate change. Miguel Naranjo warned there “would be no events industry” if the challenge is not met. Event professionals, he said, had a responsibility to contribute. From Conference News…
The UK Government has made it mandatory to wear masks which cover mouth and nose when inside conference and event venues. The call comes a few weeks after it was announced that England’s exhibition and conference facilities are allowed now to host business meetings and events for up to 30 people. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Iceberg partner UFI, the global association of the exhibition sector, and research compiler Explori have released latest findings from their “Global Recovery Project”. Visitors and exhibitors significantly prefer live events to digital (by 83 percent and 77 percent). Only 13 percent of exhibitors have sponsored online third-party events. From Exhibition World…
The World Economic Forum has pushed back its Annual Meeting in Davos because of COVID-19. The high-profile gathering, booked for January in the Alpine ski resort, will now run either “early next summer” or when WEF can “guarantee the health and safety of our participants and the host community”. From Association Meetings International…
The hybrid multi-site event BOCOM saw players from across Germany’s meetings industry demonstrating readiness for future event formats. Several hundred participants met on-site at the central conference venue in Berlin and at the hubs in Amsterdam, Essen and Vienna, as well as virtually from all continents. From GCB…
Consumer electronics show IFA has run at Messe Berlin, as German trade shows and exhibitions restarted this September. In line with local COVID regulations, attendance was limited: just 750 attendees allowed at each show segment, so invitation only for industry experts and sector media. From UFI…
When the time comes for in person events to start up again, convention centres across the US will be ready to deliver an experience prioritising health and safety. Much of that will be the result of new technologies, new cleaning protocols, and new staff positions that venues have in place. From Associations Now…
When the SBFA (Serbian Federation of Beekeeping Association) entered the “Incredible Impacts” grants run by the Iceberg partners ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance this year, its bidding stage legacy story wasn’t eligible. Even so, SBFA’s efforts are discussed by the association and Serbia Convention Bureau. From BestCities Global Alliance…
As the industry continues to press pause on larger in person events, venues and suppliers have moved resources to serve those in need. The San Diego Convention Center has since April delivered 500,000 meals to those in need through its scheme Operation Shelter to Home, 3,500 meals a day at peak. From PCMA…
In mid-June the Netherlands started to welcome international travellers back to its borders. There is no limit for maximum attendees at meetings and events, but associations even so are wary, and with countries like the US, India and Australia still unable to travel, planners are considering best strategy for the coming autumn. From Boardroom…
The pandemic is forcing so many sectors to rethink how they operate, including business events. So PCMA, the 7,000-member association for the industry, collaborated with the National Speakers Association and also the International Association of Speakers Bureaus on a virtual event addressing new business models. From Forbes…
2020’s RNC (Republican National Convention) offered event industry strategists another opportunity to see how organisers of a high-stakes, big-budget meeting can answer the challenges of capturing audience attention and engagement during the pandemic, still getting criticism over their choice of venues and lack of social distancing. From PCMA…
How do you make sure your event adheres to US Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines? A new tool let the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association meet safely but in person through the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting this July in Colorado. NCBA worked with 42Chat to launch a symptom screening tool. From PCMA…
When Marco Oelschlegel became head of Berlin’s Convention Bureau in January 2020, neither he nor the rest of the world knew how difficult and strange the coming few months would be. So just how has the start of his new role ended up being, and what is Berlin’s “new normal” like? From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The Bulb, a UK-based sustainable event consultancy, has released a guide to help meeting organisers to navigate the “new normal” and make sure the progress made in creating a sustainable industry is not lost. The increase in need for PPE (personal protective equipment) has seen a rise in plastic pollution. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
2020’s DNC (Democratic National Convention) made history for being the first time a US national political convention was held online. For any professional working in the events industry, it was an historic chance to watch and learn from a high-profile, all-or-nothing experiment in how to capture audience attention and engagement. From PCMA…
Seoul cautiously resumed business events in June, starting with exhibitions and congresses. Dental meeting SIDEX was the first large-scale example with 4,860 attendees over two days. After their firm focus on sanitation protocols, organisers confirmed two weeks later that no COVID-19 cases had arisen after it. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
While some associations are adapting quicker than others, there remains a general misconception on what is a virtual event. Is it anything as simple as a giant Zoom call, or does it entail more than that? Can simply renting a platform solve everything? What is the role now of event planners? Creating a virtual congress is as…
Earlier this year, the Incentive Research Foundation published the results of a pulse survey fielded between April 2nd and April 16th COVID-19’s Impact on the Incentive Travel Industry (April 2020). Given the continued challenges for the industry related to the pandemic, IRF fielded a study between July 1st and July 15th, 2020 to understand the…
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