A record 52 events brought more than 3,500 delegates to the UK’s North East last month and led to an economic impact of more than £4.3 million. Over 1,500 attended major medical meetings. Where delegates booked accommodation through NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, half were international and from 43 different countries. From Meetpie.com…
Wales Business Events has held its first The Business of Events Wales conference in Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, where the new ICC Wales (pictured) is under construction. The idea was to motivate the region’s industry to grow to an international scale. Prominent UK advocates were on hand to deliver the message. From Association Meetings International…
Iceland’s academic events and conferences are further ramping up. Meet in Reykjavik has signed another three universities to help develop the Scandinavian country as a key player in the sector. Bifröst University, Hólar University College and the Agricultural University of Iceland join three signed earlier this year. From Meetpie.com…
City leaders in Dundee want to “open its doors to the world” with business events. Scotland’s fourth largest city has won six “major” conferences for 2019 through its Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau Conference Ambassadors. The events are worth £1.6 million and will attract some 1,250 delegates to the city. From Association Meetings International…
Conservative Members of Parliament in the UK have had personal details revealed by the official mobile app of their party conference. Users found they were able to access MP’s information simply by entering email addresses with no password. Within minutes of the flaw’s discovery, app accounts were already being hacked. From Meetpie.com…
The Duke of York may have had ten thousand men, but recently when the University of York announced an all-male panel of seven for a history (sic) conference, a well-known female alumna tweeted academic displeasure. The conference sponsor immediately took the message on board and postponed the event, winning himself a GenderAvengers award. From PCMA Convene…
Can the knowledge imparted at a congress really be worth close to €1 billion? That’s the claim made by the European Society of Radiology and Vienna Convention Bureau about the European Congress of Radiology held in Vienna earlier this year. What does it say about the way we value knowledge? From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
The recent Conservative Party conference offered little clarity on the UK’s route forward to leaving the European Union. But did delegates also miss some irony? The event’s venue, Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, was partially funded by the EU with a donation of £50 million in 1991. Photo: Philip Pankhurst. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Despite Brexit uncertainties, London has topped Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s rankings for European, Middle East and African corporate meetings and events next year, based on CWT’s 2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends report. The top ten list has four new or returning entries: Vienna, Stockholm, Hamburg and Frankfurt. From Meetpie.com…
Security at the Prague Congress Centre has been put to the test during the largest anti-terrorist exercise ever held in the Czech Republic. 70 armed “terrorists” invaded a musical performance in the presence of 2,000 visitors who were freed by the intervention of elite units of the Czech police. From Association Meetings International…
James Rees, Executive Director of ExCeL London, has launched a bid to be President of the International Congress and Convention Association. Rees is one of three candidates to replace Nina Freysen-Pretorius and has now launched a website outlining his campaign. The vote will be announced the ICCA Congress in Dubai this November. From Meetpie.com…
ICC Wales opens its doors in May 2019. With less than a year to go, the £84 million conference centre is letting potential clients, stakeholders and the media view the construction site. With all the steel and some plumbing now in place, the venue is holding “Wonder What It’s Like” tours. From Meetpie.com…
The man who made Vienna a leading destination for international association meetings is retiring as director of its convention bureau after almost three decades in the post. Christian Mutschlechner served the Austrian capital’s CVB for 27 years, during which time Vienna has consistently been a top-three convention city. From Association Meetings International…
In 2017 Gallus Events’ William Thomson read in a Scottish newspaper that in his native town of Glasgow, one homeless person dies every week. He created Homeless Hackathon Glasgow, which brought together forty hacker participants, and which has yielded not one, but three projects currently under development, including an app for distributing surplus food. From PCMA Convene…
A Society for Incentive Travel Excellence conference session recently brought together both agencies and destination management professionals to examine the future of the sector model. The subject was defined as “the changing landscape of third party intermediaries”. The panel’s moderator reports. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
The retirement of Christian Mutschlechner from the Vienna Convention Bureau next year may, or may not, mean he is departing from the wider industry. But the fact Vienna consistently out-performed bigger cities, and has become one of the world’s top convention destinations, owes a great deal to him. From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…
Big Ben now may be hidden away from tourists, but the slow nature of industry advocacy to government was fully out on show all through the opening evidence session of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the events industry. The first sitting of an intended three focused on venues. Photo: David Holt. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…
It’s time for business event strategists to shift their thinking from a traditional sponsorship model to grow revenue. Companies are investing more and more in brand experiences than traditional logo placement. Industry leaders representing international associations and corporations will reveal how they continue to evolve their revenue model then guide you through an idea-sharing exercise…
A no-deal Brexit could be disastrous for Europeans in the events and hospitality industry, according to the UK’s Immigration Advice Service. It says the sector faces a shortfall of up to 60,000 workers if Great Britain crashes out of Europe without a deal. But any weakness in sterling could counteract some of the uncertainties. From Meetypie.com…
London venues have told MPs they need more support from the UK government to grow the events industry. Jeremy Rees, CEO of ExCeL London, said that the capital’s venues were competing with their hands tied behind their backs, while QEII Centre board member Simon Hughes said the sector needs its own representative in government. From Meetpie.com…
The QEII Centre’s net economic contribution to the UK was £145 million, a growth of 45 percent in just two years. That’s according to a new Grant Thornton study. The gross value it added to London alone was £111 million. The analysis shows the centre amounted for £312m of gross UK expenditure in 2017/18. From Meetpie.com…
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