Globalisation, the world’s closer integration, is under attack. After nativism, terrorism and of course climate change, now a microscopic pathogen is even stopping us from gathering to meet. If globalisation does have a positive legacy though, international association meetings may be the best of what closer integration gives society. From Association Meetings International…
Māori culture gives New Zealand its distinct identity, but is also moving centre stage at meetings hosted in the country. This was very evident during the 2019 International Union for Health Promotion and Education Conference, which drew to Rotorua 1,185 attendees from 73 countries. From Association Meetings International…
International travel is now all but shut down and meetings are either cancelled, postponed or online. It’s hard to think about rebuilding while still in the eye of the storm, but it’s nevertheless vital. Rod Cameron, Executive Director of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, talks sector recovery. From JMIC…
Melbourne’s AIME (the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event), with its more than 2,500 visitors and 300 exhibitors on the showroom floor, was one of the last significant industry gatherings successfully delivered in February before the coronavirus pandemic shutdown large meetings across the globe. The Iceberg partner’s buyers and exhibitors connected to conduct business at more…
COVID-19 has certainly decimated many meetings industry suppliers. But one Greater Seattle company has followed the lead of many big convention venues in repackaging its product to serve medical need. Alexander Party Rentals was hiring out large tents for conventions and special events. Now the business is in disaster response. From PCMA…
A major meeting of blood doctors will be held virtually because of the COVID-19 crisis. The 28th Congress of ISTH (the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis) was scheduled to take place in Milan this July. The USA-based association’s event typically draws over 3,000 delegates to the meeting. From Association Meetings International…
ExCeL London has become an emergency hospital, called NHS Nightingale, with the conference and exhibition centre being put into service to treat the expected surge in coronavirus patients. Other UK venues are also being prepared as ancillary hospitals: Birmingham’s NEC, Manchester Central and Glasgow’s SEC Centre. From Association Meetings International…
After the cancellation of the major industry meeting IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer has been reassuring the sector that her company is “full steam ahead” for IMEX America in September. The Iceberg partner also discussed how staff are working remotely, and what is being learnt in that process. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
The German government has run a hackathon to brainstorm solutions to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. 42,869 took part online in #WirVsVirus (“us versus the virus”). The result was more than 800 ideas on topics like shopping, childcare and symptom monitoring. Some of them have now been selected for funding. From Euractiv…
Under Australian restrictions on big gatherings during the coronavirus crisis, the organisers of technology conference QODE Brisbane chose to partner with YouTube and stream their event live around the world. In what is believed to be an Australian first, attendees were also able to visit exhibitor booths using virtual reality. From Boardroom…
German trade fairs have already been hit hard by COVID-19 crisis cancellations and postponements. Organisers and service providers are already suffering significant financial losses. AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, has now forecast a total loss to the German economy of around three billion euros. From UFI…
No kind of event is immune from the devastation coronavirus is causing. After weeks of speculation and amid mounting criticism, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President of the IOC Thomas Bach both agreed to reschedule the 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021, the first break in four-year cycle since World War II. From Reuters…
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…
Coronavirus event cancellations are wiping AU$2.5bn off the Australian economy every month. So say new figures from a major industry body. Shutting down large gatherings has effectively shut down the country’s meetings sector, with devastating results, according to the Business Events Council of Australia. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner UFI has updated its earlier economic impact assessment of international exhibitions and trade shows due to the coronavirus crisis. At least €134 billion ($145 billion) of contracts have not concluded with shows not taking place as planned through Q2. The industry economic output in total is down €81.6 billion ($88.2 billion). From UFI…
There has never been a more vital time for the services and value that associations provide, at precisely the moment traditional business models are falling apart. With a strong focus on societal mission, and by making urgent challenges the top priority, associations now have a unique opportunity to make difference. From Martin Sirk via Boardroom…
In the wake of so many meetings cancelling due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the resultant economic losses, the Founder of The Iceberg James Latham has been discussing how event organisers are reacting, and why the sector could be leading the charge when business does start to return to normal. From Duetto…
The Australian Federal Government shut down all non-essential indoor events for over one hundred people on March 18th (then for more than two people on March 29th). Event venues like ICC Sydney no longer are able to deliver events. This is an unprecedented situation, says CEO Geoff Donaghy. From Boardroom…
The Iceberg exists to celebrate the legacies of business events. Sadly, sometimes the chance to create social legacies is strikingly missed. It’s a salutary lesson to look back at a TED talk from 2015 given on the subject of pandemic preparedness by philanthropist and Founder of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates. From Boardroom…
Meetings Africa 2020 already seems so long ago. As the world struggles to tackle COVID-19, not only have major conferences and exhibitions in Asia, Europe and America been cancelled, but Africa is also feeling the crisis. Interviews include Gregg Talley, President and CEO of Iceberg partner Talley Management Group. From the Event…
The coronavirus crisis is the biggest challenge ever faced by the events industry. Get ready for business as extremely unusual. In an editorial posted before the United Kingdom locked down, one Iceberg partner promised the UK meetings industry “to amplify its voice at every turn”. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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