EDGE Venues

This Monday’s Insights (30 January 2023) feature brings you ChatGPT for eventprofs, Meet Blackpool, Meet in Kent, footwear activation, and more.

Headlines

Ever wondered what would happen if you interviewed a Chat Bot?

Neither had we, until we read a new feature from M&IT’s Editor, Paul Harvey, on what ChatGPT has in store for eventprofs – in its own words!

Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT has generated tonnes of media coverage. And Paul’s feature is extremely useful for any event profs who wants to understand the tool capabilities and limitations in terms of managing events.

It’s also very amusing, so take a look, here.

Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort and Sustainability Director of beam has been recognised as Sustainability Industry Champion.

Commenting on the win at the recent Greengage Sustainability Awards, Louisa told Conference News, “I’m completely overwhelmed. This was a marvellous surprise and a wonderful honour for me and for Wyboston Lakes Resort. I’d like to thank Greengage for the tremendous recognition and also all my colleagues and the beam action group who have helped and supported me in my work.”

Read more about the award here, including why Louise was crowned the winner.

Meet Blackpool, Blackpool’s conference and exhibition arm is investing in a campaign to raise awareness for the town’s business events sector.

The marketing initiative will see £450,000k invested in ‘Business in Blackpool, always a pleasure’ – designed to showcase Blackpool’s quality venues, technology, new infrastructure, and entertainment roots.

Michael Williams, managing director, Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited, told Conference News,: “Blackpool has long been synonymous with entertainment and this new campaign has been designed to capitalise on that heritage as a destination for exciting experiences, while promoting our new and significantly enhanced offer for business events.

Read more about the campaign and its goals in Conference News.

Visit Kent has launched a new campaign, titled ‘Meet in Kent’, a six-week campaign and part of the next stage of the EXPERIENCE Project.

The project, co-funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme was created to help Kent develop “its experiential off-season economy”. The campaign is also part of a drive by Visit Kent, which strives to help business events suppliers in the county rebuild relationships with their local clients, as well as help them attract a new audience.

Deirdre Wells OBE, chief executive, Visit Kent, said: “With the Meet in Kent campaign, we want to deliver a project that helps to strengthen consumer confidence in business events and create off-peak business opportunities by encouraging local businesses to book their away days, corporate events and team building experiences with business events suppliers that they may not realise are located near to them – here in Kent.”

Skift Meetings has introduced readers to the joy an event activation that brings joy to delegates feet!

Skift’s Andrea Doyle has written a feature – ‘Comfortable Footwear Seduces Planners’ – which demonstrates that it’s not just event profs who are drawn to the idea of easy the burden on their toes during the ‘long days and nights navigating cavernous convention centers’.

M&IT has spoken to eventprofs on the industry challenges of venue response times and staffing levels.

Response times might still be lagging compared to pre-Covid, but M&IT reports that, anecdotally, service levels on site have remained fairly high.

Check out the snapshot of the state of play, including input from EDGE Venues’ CEO, Jacqui Kavanagh.

This Monday’s Insights (16 January 2023) feature brings you the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, UKinbound’s confidence, 2023 meeting industry trends, and more.

Headlines

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will miss out many organisations in the events industry.

A new feature in Conference News explains that the scheme will provide support to ‘Energy intensive’ industries, but that our industry misses out, partly due to not having its industry classification (SIC) code.

Read more about the scheme, and how mia’s Kerrin MacPhie has reacted to the announcement, here.

The latest Business Barometer data from UKinbound shows confidence levels for the UK’s inbound tourism industry have returned to pre-Covid levels. 

Yet, high energy costs for attractions, supply-side capacity issues for tour operators and difficulties with staffing across the industry are likely to be barriers to strong growth and recovery in 2023.

Conducted by Qa Research, the latest Business Barometer survey, held in December 2022, shows that:

• Expected or confirmed bookings for Q1 of 2023 are at the same level or higher than they were before the pandemic for over half of businesses
• Nearly two-thirds of businesses stated they expected revenue for Q1 of 2023 and booking levels for Q2 of 2023 to be the same or higher than before the pandemic
• There is strong demand from US visitors to come to the UK with nearly half of businesses (44%) reporting they are seeing growth from this market

In contrast, businesses were asked what they expect to be their biggest barriers to growth over the next 12 months. For 61% of tour operators, it is ongoing issues with supply chain capacity and for 76% of attractions, their biggest concerns are inflation and the cost of energy. Ongoing recruitment and retention of staff remain a concern for nearly half of all respondents to the survey.

CEO Joss Croft said, “This data currently shows a mixed picture for the UK’s inbound tourism industry.

“It is great to see that many businesses are generally feeling optimistic about this year and confidence levels are returning to levels seen before the pandemic. It is also very positive of course that the UK is experiencing high demand from the US market and the fact that the Chinese market is also now re-opening. Unfortunately, however, our members are still experiencing some fairly fundamental problems.

“Unsurprisingly, inflation and energy costs remain a big concern – particularly for attractions, especially with the scaling back of support with energy bills from April. Our tour operator members are also telling us that they are experiencing issues with their supply chains such as not being able to secure enough quality accommodation for clients due to a reduction in bedstock because of Government contracts. Furthermore, all parts of the industry are experiencing difficulties with accessing the skilled staff that they need.

“We have some significant events taking place in 2023 in the UK – most notably His Majesty The King’s Coronation in May swiftly followed by the Eurovision Song Contest and whilst these events will generate a lot of positive attention for the UK, we cannot take this for granted.

“International tourism is a competitive business, and if we are to fully realise the economic benefits from these events and help turbocharge the recovery of the UK’s inbound industry – which is still suffering from ‘long Covid’ due to being the first industry to be impacted by the pandemic and the last to recover – the Government needs to increase its efforts and spend to successfully market the UK to potential visitors around the world.”

Click here for access to the full report.

According to Meetings and Incentive Travel, The Event Marketing Association (EMA) has been taken over by PCMA.

EMA’s membership consists of 800 UK-based corporate event marketing professionals who will immediately become part of the PCMA (US-based professional convention management association). The acquisition follows PCMA’s takeover in 2020 of CEMA – the corporate event marketing association.

EMA chair Richard Waddington said: “The opportunity of merging into PCMA and joining forces with CEMA to grow the representation and voice of the corporate internationally is an opportunity for EMA not to be missed. PCMA will bring far greater resource and capability, the opportunity for greater growth and most important far greater value for our members and partners.”

More on this latest association merger here.

Skift Meetings has published its list of seven meeting industry trends for 2023.

Covering everything from experience-first events, and the ‘weaponization of travel’, to inclusivity and data, this insightful report is a great read for events and meetings profs. 

Check out Skift’s overview here, where you can also download the full report.

Double Take

The Meetings Industry Association (mia) has joined forces with Stress Matters to provide support and help members make wellbeing a strategic priority.

According to the Event Industry News, the collaboration will see mental health first aid training, a wellness manager programme and a series of webinars and discounted courses being offered to help members reduce the stress of their teams.

The rollout follows a recent mia survey that revealed while sustainability is a key part of the business strategy for 90% of organisations working in the sector, a third admit that they are currently operating without a mental health strategy.

Read more about the new initiative here.

This Monday’s Insights (09 January 2023) feature brings you event CSR initiatives, face-to-face meetings performance increase, communicating with Gen Z, and more.

Headlines

Event CSR initiatives are endless.

Skift Meetings has curated a fantastic list of ways to give back through events. For organisations with a desire to make a difference, the list is stacked with inventive solutions.

With everything from a The Charity Bike Build and Diabetes Cook-off, to Paws For A Cause, Foodbank Showdown and more, this event CSR list is a must-read for event profs.

Check it out here!

Face-to-face meetings performance is on the up!

More than half of event planners say they’ve had a noticeable improvement in business performance since returning to face-to-face meetings, according to etc.venues’ latest research.

Starting off 2023 with this positive news for the industry, Conference News has shared further key findings from the research: Almost 99% of the UK and USA event planners say they value face-to-face meetings “more than” or “the same” as before the pandemic, (up from 82% a year ago and a 22% increase from the start of the pandemic).

Other key findings, including what the research found about the meetings industry’s commitment to sustainability, can be found here.

Northstar Travel Group (“Northstar”), owners of M&IT, AMI and The Meetings Show, has announced changes to its executive team

Jason Young joins the team as CEO, succeeding Thomas Kemp, who has been chairman and CEO since 2009. Kemp will transition to the role of chairman. 

According to M&IT, Young has been ‘an innovative leader in the digital transformation of the media industry, as well as a visionary in advertising technology. He spent 20 years with Ziff-Davis Media, the leading IT information and media business, eventually ascending to the CEO position.’

Thomas Kemp said: “We are thrilled to have Jason join Northstar as our new CEO to lead the company in our next strategic transformation as a content, marketing services, event, and data company,” said Kemp. “I have known Jason for over 20 years as a visionary leader integrating data and technology into solutions for media companies and their clients.”

Read the news in full on mitmagazine.co.uk.

Double Take

Should event planners be wary of trying too hard when it comes to talking to a younger generation?

According to Hannah Campbell on campaignlive.co.uk, brand owners in marketing are ‘battling to win the next generation of young consumers. But care is needed if brands are to successfully navigate this generational language gap.’

This is highly to be an issue for event planners too, in communicating with the generation of delegates. According to Campbell’s feature: ‘…Gen Z is shaped by constant connectivity and ready access to information. It is receptive to non-formal channels of communication – and language.’ But, Hannah writes, there’s a fine line to tread to avoid ‘doing the marketing equivalent of dad disco dancing.’

Read the full article here.

This Monday’s Insights (19 December) feature brings you LEEDS 2023, a call for inclusive approach to hospitality recruitment, and more.

Headlines

LEEDS 2023 – the year-long event of creative experiences – is nearly here!

Leeds 2023 will deliver a transformational year of creative experiences that visitors can enjoy to immerse themselves in local life. The planned programme will celebrate and transform the city’s identity locally, nationally, and internationally – creating a lasting legacy of economic and social impact.

The delegate experience offering in Leeds will see a huge boost because of the year-long event. From dance to design, art to architecture, poetry to pop, sculpture to sport, grassroots community theatre to performance in the city’s varied venues, Leeds is set to be centre stage in the UK’s cultural scene.

Conference organisers can ensure that delegates don’t just visit the city of Leeds, but experience it too with an exciting line-up of events throughout the year starting with The Awakening on January 7th, an unmissable opening ceremony which will see Headingley Stadium graced by the likes of Corinne Bailey-Rae, Simon Armitage, Kadeena Cox OBE, Inder Goldfinger and Graft for an evening of variety and entertainment. Hosted by Gabby Logan and former Leeds United player and broadcaster Sanchez Payne, the event aims to celebrate Leeds’ past, present and future, and will kickstart the whole year of culture with a bang.

Events that follow The Awakening include ‘1001 stories’ in April, which has been developed by Leeds Playhouse and The Performance Ensemble and puts the voices of older people centre-stage telling stories of love, life, youth, and joy. A programme inspired by Leeds-born, world-renowned engineer and astronomer John Smeaton, ‘Smeaton 300’ tours the city from June to December, and allows people to explore the art of engineering, while ‘All That Lives’, a reimagined celebration of Day of the Dead, masterminded by Leeds artist Ellie Harrison and Mexican artists Zion Art Studio, will take place in November at Leeds Playhouse and Leeds City College.

The delegate experiences on offer in Leeds’ have already helped the city secure its place as one of the most popular conference destinations in the UK, and the vast series of events next year are sure to cement its position as a leading global conference destination. Conference organisers are encouraged to explore the range of events and celebrations being delivered as part of LEEDS 2023 to enhance their conference offerings and ensure their delegates are left with a lasting impression of their time in the city.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “LEEDS 2023 is an exciting year of culture that will show the world everything this fantastic city has to offer. We know that our creative talent rivals anywhere in the country, and LEEDS 2023 will give people a fantastic opportunity to express themselves, all while boosting our local economy.”

Claire Heap, Head of Conference Leeds, commented: “We are thrilled with the number of experiences on offer as part of LEEDS 2023. The cultural experiences that are on offer in Leeds already attract a huge number of conference and business events, but the line-up announced for LEEDS 2023 is a fantastic display of what this year-long celebration of culture will bring.”

“The timetable of events will give delegates even more of an opportunity to apply their learnings and expand their thinking through creative and thought-provoking events and activities, and we would encourage conference organisers to contact the Conference Leeds team to align their conferences to ensure their delegates experience exceptional.”

Find out more about LEEDS 2023, here.

Skift says Global Business Events matter more than ever for driving regional economies

In a recent Skift Meetings feature, Miguel Neves, writes: ‘Global business events are critical drivers of financial gain for destinations. They impact regional development in the short and long term, and their influence has profound political impacts. In addition, they generate predictable revenue and attract desirable business tourism. However, despite all the benefits, not all destinations can develop successful global event strategies.’

Read the full feature for views full report following Skift’s Global Forum East event in Dubai.

Conference News has spoken to events venue, Athena, about how the working from home culture has impacted the way we run events. It says event organisers must now consider three things, following its qualitative research with corporate event planners.

Check it out in Conference News, here.

Raising Edinburgh’s global profile

The EICC has launched an academic advisory board, named the Exchange Initiative, to help raise Edinburgh’s global profile, drive international association conference business and innovative research coming out of Scottish universities.  The initiative aims to promote and encourage the vital role that senior academics play in attracting international association conferences, which translate to tens of millions in economic impact for the city and region every year, while the collaboration is also set to increase the international standing of the university sector and leading academics.

Elaine Miller, Association Account Business Development Manager at the EICC, said: “Associations conferences help position our universities, the EICC, and Edinburgh on a global stage, whilst showcasing the leading research coming out of our universities. 

“There are also significant long-term benefits in attracting these large-scale events, as the collaboration, knowledge exchange, and relationship building that takes place at conferences helps to inform change and creates lasting impact.  The EICC and Exchange Initiative group recognise these benefits and want to ensure there is more engagement with policymakers, industry bodies, Scottish Government agencies, and other academic research institutions.”

Read the full story, here

How has the meetings industry evolved in 2022?

In another great article from Skift Meetings, you can read the key themes that came from industry events and report this year, including ICCA Congress and IMEX. Here’s a hint – the industry is changing!

Read it here!

Double Take

Richi Sunak has confirmed that Martyn’s Law will include small venues

The Government has confirmed that draft legislation to enforce stronger protection against terrorism in public places such as venues will be published in early spring.

Venues with a capacity of over 100 and fewer than 800 will fall into a ‘standard tier’ of those required to create action plans outlining measures to mitigate the threat from terrorist attacks.

Read the full story on Exhibition News.

This Monday’s Insights (12 December) feature brings you the 2022 Hotel Cateys, a call for inclusive approach to hospitality recruitment, and more.

Headlines

Hospitality businesses need to adopt an inclusive approach to their recruitment to try and solve the industry’s vacancy crisis, according to Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Destination Coventry and Coventry City Council, recently brought together a panel of hospitality and event experts at a Recruitment and Skills Summit. The panel, which included UKHospitality’s Skills Director Sandra Kelly, discussed staffing, recruitment and skills challenges.

The summit comes at a time when staff shortages are causing one in three UK-based hospitality businesses to close on one or more days a week, according to a recent UKHospitality survey. Meanwhile the latest Office for National Statistics data shows there are around 152,000 hospitality vacancies in the UK. 

Read more.

The Caterer has revealed the winners of its 2022 Hotel Cateys.

The winners were announced at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Lancaster London.

View the full list of winners here, including Northcote managing director Craig Bancroft who scooped the Outstanding Contribution Award.

AEV demonstrated The Power of People at its 2022 Conference.

At the UK industry association AEV’s conference, delegates gathered at the Harrogate Convention Centre for the day’s keynote from motivational speaker Marcus Child. ‘The Power of People’, explained motivation, the science behind thoughts of success and achievement, and the importance of inspiration.

AEV director, Rachel Parker, said, “The power of people was evident in the room today, and I hope that every delegate and member venue will have found something to inspire them, to take back to their workplace and in their own personal development.”

Read more about the event, and delegate feedback on exhibitionworld.co.uk.

This Monday’s Insights (05 December) feature brings you IBTM World 100k connections, isla’s venue net zero guide, Skift Meetings State of Business Events report, and more.

Headlines

IBTM World 2022 made 100,000 connections

IBTM World, which this year explored the connection between events and culture, closed on 1 December 2022 with over 100,000 business meetings having taken place and over 10,000 attendees gathering in Barcelona for the three days of the event.

IBTM World 2022 investigated how the technology we use, the experiences we create, and the destinations we visit create limitless cultures for businesses and incredible potential for events.

Over 2,200 exhibiting companies from 150 countries around the world were in attendance, including the CVBs of Spain, Ireland, Brussels, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Canada, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain, Canada, Miami, Las Vegas and Boston, as well as Meliá Hotels and Barceló Hotels.

During the event, IBTM announced that it has signed a new three-year contract with Barcelona Convention Bureau and Fira de Barcelona that will see IBTM World take place in the city up to and including the 2025 edition. The new contract builds on the existing 18-year relationship between the three organisations, with the next edition confirmed at Fira Gran Via for 28 – 30 November 2023.

Commenting on the close of the event, David Thompson, IBTM World Event Director, said: “IBTM World 2022 has been a fantastic success, surpassing all our expectations with more quality one-to-one business meetings taking place per attendee than in 2019. It was brilliant to receive feedback on the show floor that there is so much appetite for doing business that many exhibitors and buyers have already scheduled additional meetings to take place in the coming weeks. There has been a real sense of excitement and we look forward to returning to Barcelona in 2023.”

isla has launched a guide to support meetings and event venues in the transition to Net Zero.

According to Conference News, the events industry sustainability body’s guide, Sustainability in Practice: A Pathway for Venues, encourages venues to review their sustainability progress, develop short to mid-term sustainability goals and set a “realistic but ambitious” aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. 

The guide, created in partnership with VisitBritain Business Events and supported by the Association of Event Venues (AEV), the Meetings Industry Association (mia) and beam, looks at how venues can develop a sustainability strategy covering five areas: company operations; commitments and communications;  event deliveries;  measurement and reporting; and value chain engagement.

Read more and download the guide via Conference News.

Skift Meetings State of Business Events report examines the current state of the industry, with an eye on what lies ahead in 2023. Some results may seem surprising!

According to Skift Meetings, the report’s top trends include event teams being being stretched thin, and location sourcing more focused on no-flight or direct-flight destinations, and sustainability is ‘not a top priority’.

Check out the full report via Skift Meetings and let us know what you think!

IACC Announces Strategic Alliance with MPI

IACC has agreed terms for a strategic partnership with MPI, the largest global meetings and events industry association. The alliance will see the two organisations working to advance the global events community using shared knowledge and connected intelligence.

The partnership engages on multiple platforms with MPI’s diverse and substantial network of more than 90,000 meeting and event professionals across 70 chapters to promote the world’s best meeting venues and bring together the brightest industry minds. 

The MPI partnership reinforces IACC’s commitment to supporting every one of its 400 member venues with advanced research and resources as well as prime networking opportunities.

IACC and MPI will collaborate on a number of initiatives including thought leadership discussions as well as the creation of content and campaigns that reinforce equity, diversity, inclusion, and wellness as key components to a successful sector. Together, the organisations will share education at their live events and develop online learning platforms to deliver rich resources in the form of blogs, webinars, and best practice briefings.

Parlez vous…English?

The multifaceted case for multilingualism is the subject of a recent feature on amimagazine.global.

According to Martin Sirk who authored the piece, ‘the reality facing conference organisers is that the provision at international events of languages other than English has been slipping away for decades, reserved for a few formal set-piece occasions and the least number of languages that protocol demands.’  

Double Take

Union of International Associations releases report on International Meetings Issues

During 2022 the Union of International Associations had undertaken its tenth large-scale survey on issues encountered by international organisations and associations when holding meetings.

This year the questions were again adjusted to focus on the ongoing impact of the pandemic on association meetings activity. The closing section of the report features additional comments offered by the associations on issues related to organizing international conferences under pandemic conditions.

The COVID 19 pandemic has a tremendous impact on the global travel and meetings industry and on the meetings behaviour of international associations. This special UIA Survey 2022 ­­– COVID 19 Impact on International Association Meetings focuses on the changed approach of associations, when planning and organising their international events.

Access the report here.

This Monday’s Insights (28 November) feature brings you IBTM’s new gender equality report, the mia conference reigniting the sector, the IACC’s latest Meeting Room of the Future report, and more.

Headlines

IBTM’s new gender equality report is out now.

The report is focused on event managers in MICE and demonstrates that the industry is still “dominated by women but run by men”, according to IBTM.

IBTM states that the report was carried out with the aim of starting conversations on the topic and helping to make a change.

According to the study, men within the industry are more likely to occupy directorial positions than women. Taking a sample of 2,000 global LinkedIn profiles, only 16% of the women included were at this seniority level compared to 32% of men.

Read more about IBTM’s new gender equality on Conference News.

The mia has reignited sector with engaging annual conference.

That’s according to a report this week on eventindustrynews.com.

According to the report, ‘creativity, collaboration, innovation and sustainability were the key watchwords’ of the conference, as it ‘united, inspired and energised the sector to navigate the next normal.’

Read the full feature about the full-day REIGNITE conference, including input from representatives of ABPCO, beam, and more, here.

The IACC has released the latest in its series of ‘Meeting Room of the Future’ barometer reports.

With the meetings industry continuing its path to recovery, the Meeting
Room of the Future (MRoTF) initiative, conducted by IACC since 2016,
provides first hand insight from global venue operators into their recovery
trajectories, their investment priorities, and their responses to emerging
trends.

In the context of talent shortages, inflation, and the push towards net-zero
sustainability goals, this research illustrates the ways in which venue opera
tors are positioning themselves for the challenges and opportunities facing
the meetings and events industry.

For the November report, 98 global venue operators took part, with 59% of respondents from the Americas (US and Canada), 37% from Europe (Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands), and the
balance from Australia.

The report shows that two-thirds of respondents reported recovery to above half of 2019 volume and one-third reported having surpassed a recovery to 80% of 2019 volume.

Read the full November report, here.

According to Conference News magazine, the Elevate mentoring programme had recently launched its seventh annual registration.

Elevate is a free mentorship programme that has been designed with a specific goal in mind – to support, inspire and elevate ambitious people within the events, hospitality and creative industries. It’s a five-month programme connecting mentors and mentees and as a result, making the industry even better.

Find out more, including how to apply, here.

This Monday’s Insights (21 November) feature brings you a new Dallas convention centre, beam’s priorities, UFI General Assembly, and ExCeL London’s floor marking robot Lionel.

Headlines

A new $2 billion, 2.5-million-square-foot convention centre will be built in Dallas.

According to Skift Meetings, the new Dallas convention centre with elevate the city to compete with other major meeting and convention destinations. 

Craig Davis, president and CEO of Visit Dallas, told Skift, “This is such a big deal for us. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center opened in 1957. It is 65 years old and looks every bit of it. Customers have been telling us for years it’s not cutting it. This new convention center will make a seismic shift for us and what our future is going to be.”

Get the full story here. 

M&IT editor Paul Harvey catches up with Sian Sayward, newly-installed chair of beam in the latest episode of M&IT Talks.

Listen now to find out what Sayward’s priorities will be and how she sees the sector’s fortunes over the next 12 months as the UK faces a perfect storm of inflation, recession and rising costs. 

UFI General Assembly wraps up a transitional year for the industry, highlights progress on key issues.

Representatives from UFI (global association of the exhibition industry) member companies from around the world met in Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) to review 2022 activities and confirm 2023.

The 2022 UFI General Assembly took place before the UFI Global Congress. At the end of a year defined by both the post-pandemic industry recovery and new global challenges, the Congress is welcoming hundreds of participants from around 50 countries and regions.

Chaired by UFI’s 2022 President, Monica Lee Müller, the General Assembly reviewed and previewed the association’s initiatives to support UFI’s members – more than 800 strong, and across 86 countries. Many new members are joining the Global Congress for the first time, as 70 companies from around the world have signed up as UFI members in the past twelve months.

Monica Lee-Müller, UFI’s 2022 President, began summarising the year as follows: “Throughout the last 12 months, so much has happened that deserves a mention.”

“As a global association, we need full participation by talented, committed women, and men, from different cultures and backgrounds, to drive our industry forward. Personally, I think there is work to be done. But I can see changes coming: If you look at the demographics of participants in this year’s Exhibition Management School, more than half of the participants were women. Among the six winners of this year’s Next Generation Leadership Grant, four are women, and the six come from a diverse geographical mix: Asia, Africa, Central America, Europe and the US. These talented young people with high potential will one day lead our industry upward and forward.”

Read the full round-up and plans at UFI.org

ExCeL London has undertaken the UK’s first use of the world’s most advanced floor marking robots as part of its long-term strategy to help make the industry more sustainable. 

Lionel (so called because he marks out lines), was recently used on the mark-out of Event Tech Live 2022 – which the venue hosts – to showcase both the business and the sustainability benefits available, as well as ExCeL’s commitment to operational excellence. 

The Lionel robots can drastically reduce environmental impact by eliminating the need for single-use carpets and other consumable materials used for manual marking. Indeed, according to a recent report by SASIE, it is estimated that as much as six million tonnes of carpet are thrown away each year by the UK event industry.

Furthermore, as the robots are completely autonomous, event organisers no longer need to hire specialist international marking contractors, saving tens of thousands of hours per year of travel time and transport emissions.

The robots were supplied to the venue by August Robots, the world leader in autonomous commercial robotic applications. The organisation supports dozens of exhibition centres worldwide and has marked more than one million square metres of exhibition space for large-scale events predominately in Germany and the USA. ExCeL will also be on the of the first venues globally to lease and operate their own Lionel robots, as previously they were only offered as part of a floor marking service.

Natalie Sykes, Sustainability Manager, said: “As a carbon neutral venue, sustainability is at the forefront of our agenda, and we are always looking for innovative new ways to help reduce our emissions and waste. As such, we’re delighted to be working with August Robotics to automate future floor marking operations and we’re delighted to have already undertaken the first UK application. From an operational perspective, this technology yields considerable cost savings, rapid build times for our clients and the elimination of costly mistakes and rework time. 

Alex Wyatt, CEO of August Robotics, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have ExCeL London as one of Lionel’s first lease clients. ExCeL are leaders in innovation and we’re proud to partner with them to advance a sustainable exhibition future with our technology. Our team has made tremendous strides to make the robots simple to use; we’re excited for ExCeL to enjoy all the advantages of autonomous floor marking.”

Located in the Royal Docks, ExCeL hosts around 400 events annually and welcomes some four million visitors. Earlier this year it became the first UK venue to be certified carbon neutral to the internationally recognised PAS 2060 status and has as an interim target for their journey to Net Zero.