Iceberg partner IMEX has just taken the “devastating decision” to cancel IMEX Frankfurt. Citing the danger of the German health ministry forcing a last minute shutdown very close to the trade show’s opening this May, the meetings industry stalwart has just given the sector a textbook lesson in how to make a difficult call. From PCMA…
While some organisers are taking the nuclear option and cancelling their events altogether, others postpone or try pivoting to online solutions to make sure delegates don’t miss out completely. William Thomas, CEO of Gallus Events, recalls the first online event he ran and the lessons learned from it. From Association Meetings International…
Public views about COVID-19 have seemed to polarise around either very sensationalist panic or similarly dangerous complacency. Perhaps we should choose to hear neither of these extreme positions. The events industry is going to take a battering from this crisis. The sector should try to accept this. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The spread of COVID-19 has many planners confronting big questions about the risk assessment, the crisis management and communication involved in bringing thousands of people together. Bill Reed, Chief Event Strategy officer at ASH, the American Society of Hematology, has just had to pull the plug on a meeting. From PCMA…
GESS Dubai is a global exhibition showcasing educational products, plus a CPD accredited conference. Held at the end of February, the 13th edition of the show was to feature a Chinese pavilion with 30 companies confirmed as exhibiting. Ten, plus one more international exhibitor, cancelled participation because of the COVID-19 crisis. From UFI…
Julia Sonnemann, PR Manager for ITB Berlin, was all smiles during a press conference on February 19th. On February 28th, days before its opening, the travel and tourism trade fair was forced to cancel because it couldn’t meet local health authority requirements on COVID-19. Sonnemann now picks through the difficult decisions that were faced. From EventMB…
Geneviève Leclerc is Chief Executive Officer of #MEET4IMPACT, and the best person to ask the difference between “legacy” and “impact”. This Iceberg partner is now working with Tourism New Zealand on the project “Enrich New Zealand – Conference Impact”. This will measure outcomes of three meetings held over two years. From PCMA…
Action to fight climate change is a growing part of CSR. But companies are starting to align activities around all the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Meetings contribute to quality education, or SDG 4. The industry’s engagement on SDGs has now been surveyed by Fiona Pelham, CEO of Iceberg partner Positive Impact. From PCMA…
Associations sit right at the heart of the legacy debate in business events. During the recent Dubai Association Conference, sessions focused on both the societal legacies they can leave and the strategies necessary to leave them. The emirate itself is a major hub for the sector, having set up the Dubai Association Centre in 2014….
With social impact moving ever higher up the business events agenda, ICC Sydney’s Legacy Program has set out to inspire conference organisers to make wider a contribution in the Australian host destination and beyond. Five streams of legacy creation guide associations and event planners towards the best fit for their own organisation. From Boardroom…
The purpose of this document is to outline key planning considerations for organisers of mass gatherings in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. It should be read in conjunction with the World Health Organization’s Public Health for Mass Gatherings: Key Considerations, which provides general advice on the public health aspects of mass gathering events. It…
Wellness continues to be a topic highlighted in both professional circles as well as in our personal lives. For this 2020 study, the Incentive Research Foundation explored how wellness is specifically represented in incentive travel programmes as well as in general meeting types. Of the individuals surveyed for this report, 68 percent noted that wellness…
You are what you eat! But food isn’t just about physical health, it’s about mental health as well. So, in an industry where mental health is increasingly being scrutinised, how can food control mood? Beyond Food: Food and Mental Health (Lime Venue Portfolio website, registration required) Top Five Tips to Munch Your Way to Good…
ITB Berlin, the international travel and tourism trade fair, has been cancelled just days before opening over fears of spreading COVID-19. The health authority of the Berlin district was requiring all delegates to prove they were not from a risk area and had not been in contact with anyone who is. From International Flight Network…
The Geneva International Motor Show has been cancelled days before opening after the Swiss government put an immediate ban on events involving more than 1,000 people to halt the spread of the new coronavirus. Planners called it a case of force majeure, or unpredictable circumstances that obviate liabilities in contracts. From Meetings & Conventions…
The 15th Meetings Africa has just been hosted in Johannesburg at the Sandton Convention Centre. South Africa National Convention Bureau Chief Convention Bureau Officer, Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo (pictured), spoke at the opening address, and one keynote addressed Expo 2020 Dubai, at which all 54 of the African nations will be participating. From Exhibition World…
The Northern Territory (NT) Business Events Fund is offering AUS$200 per delegate before May 31st for events staged in the NT by the end of June 2021. Then it reverts to AUS$100. NT stole the show on the first day of Iceberg partner AIME in Melbourne with a tunnel light installation. From Association Meetings International…
Hong Kong is to pump HK$1 billion (US$130 million) into its faltering events industry as political unrest and the coronavirus outbreak take their toll. Where at least half of all attendees are coming from outside Hong Kong, the government will pay the full venue rental costs of large exhibitions and conventions. From Association Meetings International…
The Research Division of Iceberg partner the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) is monitoring the status of 1,065 meetings in the ICCA Association Database currently scheduled for Asia Pacific during 2020. Only 44 are affected by COVID-19 (4.1 percent). Of these, 34 are being postponed, five cancelled and five relocated. From UFI…
Singapore’s meetings industry has been badly hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with a string of significant association events withdrawing from the city as a result to mitigate their risk. The Association of Corporate Counsel, The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition and also Alzheimers Disease International have all cancelled or postponed. From Association Meetings International…
The organisers of IBTM Asia Pacific 2020 have postponed the launch event, set to have taken place this April at the Singapore Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, until April 2021. The Iceberg partner made the decision due to the risks of coronavirus in discussion with its wider stakeholders. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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