President Trump has cancelled the pre-election Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, as the pandemic continues to rage in Florida. The convention had been scheduled for August. The party will hold a scaled-back event in North Carolina instead, which is where the President’s formal nomination will take place. From Conference & Meetings World…
In a bid to relaunch international conferences and the events sector, Brussels is launching a fund of €2 million to entice planners to choose the Belgian capital as a destination. Grants for organisers are available until September 2020, with up to €50,000 per event with at least 200 particiating. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Singapore Tourism Board is piloting two hybrid events, which will allow 50 delegates to attend in person, to stress-test its new risk management framework before gradually scaling up to larger meetings. Both events will have up to 50 attendees on site and about 1,000 online. From Association Meetings International…
Trade show business will contract by 60 percent compared to 2019, says global association of the exhibition industry and Iceberg partner UFI. €158 billion of total output and 1.9 million jobs are now affected. The updated assessment compiles data from the new UFI Global Exhibition Barometer. From Exhibition World…
Venue managers across the UK have welcomed the announcement that business events are to resume this autumn, subject to the successful outcome of pilot events. The ACC Liverpool Group, ExCeL London and the NEC in Birmingham are among those responding. From Association Meetings International…
The UK meetings industry is now launching a campaign to boost confidence in the sector and to prove its worth to the country. Smyle’s Rick Stainton and BVEP Chair Simon Hughes are leading the drive to embed trust in the industry’s safety approach. They are calling for contributions. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said conferences and exhibitions in the country will be permitted from October 1st. The PM announced that the decision would depend on data and that local authorities would have powers to close events if there was a danger to the public. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
With a location near two World Heritage sites, Australia’s Cairns Convention Centre is starting to market its AU$176 million brand expansion and refurbishment. The first stage of the work, completing in February, will see a refurbishment of the existing Centre. Then expansion will create all-new spaces. From Conference & Meetings World…
Designers of Melbourne’s latest meeting space, CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park, have been setting out their ideas. NH Architecture was selected as part of the final stage of AU$972 million redevelopment. The firm has worked on other projects in the city, including the expansion of MCEC. From Association Meetings International…
Martin Sirk is International Advisor for Iceberg partner GAH (Global Association Hubs). In a sharp reality check for the business events sector, he warns that successful reopening relies on a much wider containment of the pandemic than the industry on its own can ever achieve. The economy and health are not zero-sum trade-offs or parallel-track…
The largest business-to-business, face-to-face exhibition in the US, CES 2021, has moved to being an online, all-digital event. In 2019 CES had 170,000 visitors, 6,000 media, plus 4,000 exhibiting businesses from every corner of the world. The early pivot sent shock waves across an industry already devastated by the pandemic. From UFI…
The UK’s Conservative Party will be hosting its annual conference at Birmingham in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The event has alternated between ICC Birmingham and Manchester Central since 2008. Both used to be Labour heartlands, which shows the legacies that come from targeting a specific destination. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…
Months now into the COVID-19 pandemic we are awash in sector pronouncements and assertions, even if the route to recovery in this challenging situation remains rather unpredictable. But the recent global manifesto from the Joint Meetings Industry Council is a little different. So says JMIC’s Executive Director Rod Cameron…
In planning a hybrid or digital event, content is key to success. Panelists said as much during the first hybrid webinar of The Hague Convention Bureau. Talking through the viability of such events were a corporate and two association planners, a meeting design expert and a hotel executive. Article includes webinar video. From PCMA…
In the UK many industry associations have produced their own COVID-19 safety guidelines. While a measure showing initiative and real thirst to restart, this has caused confusion among planners over which label to seek out. List compiled before the Government-approved All Secure Standard was launched. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
After months of lockdown, many countries are just now gradually reopening events. This is not just countries that have suppressed the pandemic, but also many where the situation remains uncertain during a second wave of cases. So how do events look in a COVID-19 world? From Rod Kamleshwaran of the Iceberg partner GainingEdge via LinkedIn…
Associations are perfectly placed to reshape the world emerging from lockdown. They are repositories of expertise and best practice. They are trusted curators of information. They connect people all around the world and provide lifelong learning beyond university. But is this an opportunity they will grasp? From Association Meetings International…
COVID-19 has forced a rethinking of travel. Many conferences have been cancelled. Some have gone virtual. This analysis looks at actions that might reduce conference travel emissions by up to 90 percent, including holding a conference biennially in accessible locations, plus having both regional hubs and more virtual events. From Nature…
When ASN (the American Society for Nutrition) decided to switch its live event set for late May in Seattle to all-virtual just sixty days before the meeting, the organising team of ten didn’t know what to expect from the pivot. Nutrition 2020 typically draws 3,500 delegates, but about 30,000 attended the virtual version. From PCMA…
In the rush to pivot strategies for the new normal, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters for an association and its members. Here is a guide to this transformative shift for associations and their congresses, including the delegates, sponsors and technology: the myths, facts and opportunities around virtual events. From MCI…
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