RAI Amsterdam has said it is able to reopen its doors while still closely following all guidelines regarding social distancing. The venue wants to organise trial events during the summer to test various ways visitors and exhibitors can be safely brought together. Everyone will be required to register with RAI in advance. From Meetings International…
South Korea’s largest exhibition and convention centre, KINTEX, has just hosted the 2020 MBC Architecture Expo. The venue’s safety protocols included stringent screening and biosecurity, including disinfection mats, thermal imaging cameras, as well as the compulsory wearing of masks, gloves and in some cases full face shields. From Exhibition World…
Associations have long advocated for their members’ interests before governments and other institutions around the world. Now COVID-19 has completely revolutionised this function. As policymakers react to the crisis in real time, the advocacy associations do on behalf of their members has never been more urgent. From Boardroom…
Prior to the UK outlining plans for lifting lockdown in the hospitality industry, Jennifer Houlihan, Events and Operations Specialist at Dotted Lines, took an in-depth look at how meetings could start to come back and spur post-COVID-19 recovery. She discusses pre-event, onsite and post-event planning issues. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In April the event agency Freeman joined up with eighty other industry leaders to form Go LIVE Together as a response to COVID-19’s impact on live events. One month on Freeman CEO Bob Priest-Heck discusses the importance of advocacy, the status of government funding, and hopes for the future of the industry. From BizBash…
Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre says it is ready for the post-COVID-19 era. 2020 had been on track to be a record events year for the venue. May 4th saw Iceland’s lockdown lifted. On May 7th Harpa became one of the first conference halls in Europe to reopen. From Meetings International…
The shape of the “new normal” has become clearer after the first large Asia Pacific trade shows to return: the 2020 Hunan Auto Show run at the Hunan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Changsha, and the MBC Architecture Show at the Korea International Exhibition and Convention Center in Goyang. From PCMA…
Iceberg partner UFI, the exhibition industry’s global association, staged an UFI Connects webinar on the role of government in exhibition industry recovery in Asia. It produced some great market insights, among them news of trade shows opening up in Shanghai this June, plus an update on the regional subsidies available. From Exhibition World…
Toulouse recently joined Iceberg partner the Global Destination Sustainability Index, which measures and benchmarks cities’ green strategy and performance. The opening of the new LEED certified MEETT Convention Centre, scheduled for the end of 2020, shows the environmental commitment of the city’s partners. From Boardroom…
A new summit intended to improve global healthcare meetings has been unveiled by its co-creators. Iceberg partner ICCA along with AC Forum, a network of associations focused on both association leadership and congress management, have slated the first Future of Global Healthcare Meetings for Spring 2021. From Association Meetings International…
Ancient King of Scotland Robert the Bruce once learned a lesson about patience watching a spider spinning its web. Now modern Scotland has sent a clear message to the world’s business events community in the wake of the country’s coronavirus lockdown: “we will wait for you”. From Boardroom…
Event professionals will need to have a flexible mindset and to adapt and evolve business practice in a world after the pandemic. So said Patrick Smith, Senior Vice President and CMO of Cvent, during EduMonday on PlanetIMEX, Iceberg partner IMEX Group’s new virtual platform. From Meetings International…
What might face-to-face meetings with neither a coronavirus vaccine nor effective treatment look like? Perhaps signing a waiver releasing the organiser from liability, an initial COVID-19 test and then daily checks of temperature? Those are some of the requirements of Metrock’s Voice of Healthcare Summit 2020 set for Boston this August. From PCMA…
Trade associations have a vital role to play in helping the industry and wider world to recover as pandemic lockdowns end. So there is real and pressing work now for them to do. The association champion Jennifer Jenkins is PCO Lead and Director at the British agency Worldspan. From Association Meetings International…
Adapt, survive, thrive. Not a choice, but a necessity in the future. So says Smyle Founder and Group Executive Director Rick Stainton, here offering a long-range view on assessing the current economic conditions, lower delegate appetite for business travel, and the role in the mix of virtual and hybrid. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
In a move sure to be replicated across all destination marketing, the Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), partnering with the country’s State Tourism and Food Safety Agencies, has launched SAHMAN (Sanitation and Hygiene Methods and Norms). PwC is to audit the initiative, which will cover all aspects of tourism. From Meetings International…
Iceberg partner IMEX Group has announced the creation of a virtual experience featuring 3D interactive islands called PlanetIMEX. Launching on May 6th, the platform will offer free access to a variety of industry content on community, education and networking islands, the first two available on the launch date. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
AIM Group International has turned a face-to-face medical conference into an entirely online meeting. The AIOP (Italian Academy of Prosthetic Odontology) congress was booked at the Riccione Convention Centre (pictured). AIOP sees the switch as a chance to attract a wider audience. From Association Meetings International…
Tokyo-based Congress Corporation has sent Iceberg partner Boardroom a letter outlining the current status of the Japanese events industry. The COVID-19 crisis even saw the 2020 Summer Olympics being postponed. Having also had to weather SARS in 2003, Congress President Noriko Takeuchi has been among those lobbying for government relief. From Boardroom…
Matthias Schultze, the German Convention Bureau’s Managing Director, has been discussing the future of meeetings with Christina Buttler, the MCI Germany Director of Strategy and Innovation (MCI is a partner of The Iceberg). She is sure virtual and hybrid events will still be revolutionising established formats even after the current crisis ends. From GCB…
COVID-19 has made virtual events necessary, acceptable and habitual. The crisis will change the industry beyond recognition in that meeting face-to-face will not take place for a while at anything like the usual scale and frequency. In the mid to longer term, social distancing and hygiene protocols will also transform. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
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