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…
The associations sector is vast and diverse, but one community dealing with particular challenges is that of the medical associations. Significant demographic changes are changing how healthcare professionals work and meet together. Ben Hainsworth, Managing Director at EASL (home of hepatology) explains what these are. From Boardroom…
Linda Pereira is CEO of the L&I Communications Group. A professional congress organiser firmly based in Portugal but with huge international experience, the “Destination Diva”‘s smile is a familiar sight right across the global meetings industry community. In this Iceberg exclusive video, however, Pereira’s assessment of the damage COVID-19 has now caused the sector is sobering to…
The President of the Joint Meetings Industry Council, which presents The Iceberg, has addressed on video the disruption of meetings, events and exhibitions worldwide caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Kai Hattendorf called upon all industry members to actively support measures to help restore and build confidence in event participation including: Making sure policies and procedures…
The torrent of business event cancellations precipitated by the coronavirus crisis has seen planners all over the world examining the small print of their insurance contracts. Indeed many have had to reassess their entire approach to purchasing coverage. Terry Waller is Managing Director of event insurance specialist Arc International. In this Iceberg exclusive video, Waller…
A resource from Iceberg partners AIPC (the International Association of Convention Centres) and UFI (the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) for venues addressing the challenges related to COVID-19. The guide focusses on updated health and safety policies, plans and procedures. It includes both strategic and practical guidance in form of advice, suggestions and best…
The European Exhibition Industry Alliance, representing nearly 400 European exhibition organisers and venue operators in Brussels to the European institutions and wider stakeholders, has welcomed recent economic support measures for the industry the European Commission has announced in the wake of COVID-19. From Exhibition World…
The owner of Scandinavia’s largest convention centre is making 350 people redundant due to “a brutal slowdown” caused by the COVID-19 crisis. BC Hospitality Group, which runs the Bella Center Copenhagen, as well as the Comwell Conference Center and several hotels, has not said where the cuts will fall. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner the IMEX Group has cancelled meetings industry trade show IMEX Frankfurt 2020, due to take place in May. IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom and CEO Carina Bauer released a joint statement revealing the news, in which the pair said the decision had been made with “deep sadness and heavy hearts”. From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partners AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres), ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) and UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) are jointly now backing a campaign “This show is open for business” first launched by UFI and SISO (Society of Independent Show Organizers). From Association Meetings International…
Iceberg partner UFI has released the first economic impact assessment on global exhibitions and trade shows of COVID-19. At least €23 billion ($26.3 billion) total worth of contracts have not concluded with shows not taking place as planned. The industry’s economic output in total is down €14.4 billion ($16.5 billion). From UFI…
A major meeting of accountants and lawyers about to have taken place in Cape Town has been cancelled amid fears of COVID-19. Organiser INSOL International, a federation of smaller associations, was expecting up to 1,000 delegates, and the decision to cancel could cause the organisation “significant hardship” with refunds. From Association Meetings International…
The decision to cancel a conference in Denver over COVID-19 fears has left some of its more than 10,000 delegates perplexed and angry. The 55,000-member American Physical Society, a professional association for physicists, cancelled its largest meeting of the year less than 48 hours before it was due to open. From Association Meetings International…
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