Business travel restrictions and the reduced demand for any in person meetings and events are the biggest concerns for planners in the UK and Europe, according to new Northstar Meetings Group figures. The survey found 90 percent very or somewhat concerned about policy updates restricting business travel. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
EICC, the Edinburgh International Convention Centre, has launched a “hybrid virtual model” in advance of the “phased return to smaller-scale events” anticipated later this year. “Make It Edinburgh Live” will allow planners to run events either entirely online or instead via a combination of both online and onsite. From Association Meetings International…
IFEMA, the consortium behind Spain’s largest exhibition complex Feria de Madrid, wants to reopen in September and host over 60 events in the last four months of the year. After use as an emergency hospital during the crisis peak, the fairground aims to host the events postponed as a result. From Association Meetings International…
Estonia has laid out tentative plans to reopen its meetings sector with a social media campaign showcasing “safe-hosting practices” that allow for indoor meetings of up to 500 delegates. This coincides with the easing of restrictions in the region, where early measures resulted in a relatively low spread of COVID-19. From Association Meetings International…
With coronavirus leading to major trade fair casualties in the German capital, politicians are calling for a new plan for Messe Berlin, including the injection of €80 million of public money into the venue. International travel show ITB at the venue was a notable early victim of the crisis. From Exhibition World…
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…
Governments have differing ideas about how meetings should return safely during the pandemic. Industry bodies advocate different plans. But what of the science? Dr. Brian Labus, epidemiologist and health sciences expert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, prepares organisers for the months ahead. From Event MB…
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…
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…
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…
Aberdeen Convention and Events Bureau’s Graeme Mackay, Senior Business Development Executive, sees collaboration as the best way to navigate the current pandemic. The Scottish seaport is part of the Energy Cities Alliance (along with Abu Dhabi, Calgary, Lausanne and Stavanger), an example of just such collaboration in action. From Boardroom…
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…
BVEP (the Business Visits & Events Partnership) has published The UK Events Report, an in-depth look at the £70 billion industry providing jobs for 700,000 people and how it will deliver the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, launched last year. The UK Events Report, which was compiled prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, illustrates the impact the UK…
Iceberg partner UFI, global association of the exhibition industry, has published a global framework for the safe and controlled reopening of exhibitions and B2B trade events around the world. The document is intended to become a de facto standard in exchanges with national policy makers and other relevant authorities. The framework is put together by…
In Iceberg partner ICCA’s annual rankings for international meetings, Paris has taken the top spot for the second year in a row, pulling even further ahead of other European destinations. The city’s dominance validates the work of both the local sector and the Conference Unit of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau. From Meetings International…
Up to 15,000 architects will descend on Copenhagen in 2023, when the Danish capital, renowned for cutting edge buildings, will be named World Capital of Architecture. The city will be taking on the mantle, conferred by UNESCO and UIA (the Union of International Architects), as it hosts the World Congress of Architects. From Association Meetings International…
UFI, the exhibition industry’s global association, has welcomed a call by Germany on reopening exhibitions and trade shows. The county chose to segment its classification of “mass gatherings”, making trade shows and exhibitions types of events that can now be allowed again under certain conditions by the sixteen German states. From UFI…
UFI, the exhibition industry’s global association, has posted a framework for the safe and controlled restart of exhibitions and trade events around the world. The Iceberg partner’s ten page document is intended as a de facto standard to be used in dealing with national policy makers and also other relevant authorities. From UFI…
Expo 2020 Dubai will now shape a post-pandemic world and create a better future from October 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022. While the vote technically remains open until May 29th, already two-thirds of all of the Bureau International des Expositions member states have opted to delay the event by a year. From the Event…
The NHS Nightingale Hospital based within ExCeL London has now been placed on standby and will admit no further patients. The facility opened at the beginning of April and treated 51 patients in its first three weeks of operation. 500 beds were installed at opening, with space for 4,000 if needed. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…
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