IMEX Archives - EDGE Venues

27th February 202412th August 2024

CHS Leeds 2024, EventWell® Buddy service, The Power of Events Careers Hub, & more

This news round-up brings you some of the industry and association news and views from February 2024, including CHS Leeds 2024, EventWell®’s Buddy service, ABPCO’s 2024 Festival of Learning, IMEX Frankfurt’s Sustainable Event Report, and more.

Headlines

CHS Leeds 2024 has announced speakers and content for its educational seminars which will take place at The Royal Armouries, 23rd April.

It claims the programme will be one of the most comprehensive guides to organising modern events, with an A-Z, available to delegates, produced by the speakers live at the event.

Beginning with ‘Event Organising 101’, presented by Neil Thompson, The Delegate Wranglers, Louisa O’Connor, SEEN Presents and Justine Bruce, QHotels Collection, and finishing with a challenging session on Accessibility from Orla Pearson, MyClearText Ltd and Acessloop, the sessions will summarise key take away points and add them to a working compendium that will be shared with all delegates at the end of the day.

Julie Phillips, Operations Director, CHS Leeds, said: “In essence, they [visitors] want to go back to basic event organising, but through the lens of a massively evolving event world here in 2024. I really think we’re going to deliver, and what’s more, we’re giving them something to take away with them. So, if they do miss a session, they can still have the key take outs in our A-Z.”

CHS Leeds will also continue to follow its values of looking after event organiser’s personal and professional growth with each speaker asked to ensure their sessions are as empathetic and practical as possible. The team will write the A-Z throughout the day and make it available to download via QR code.

Find out more, here.

Julie Shorrock, the newly-appointed chair of trade association beam, has spoken to M&IT about her plans for 2024, the state of the sector, and more.

Julie told the magazine, “I’d like to see more collaborations between associations. I think we work better together. When another association’s doing something good, I think we could do a lot more sharing and collaborative work. We’ve already started with IACC, with BTA, and I look forward to developing those relationships this year.”

Read the full interview, here.

Ahead of IMEX Frankfurt in May, the team has published a Sustainable Event Report revealing the successes, experiments and learnings from last year’s show.

The report lifts the lid on sustainability planning in the run-up to and execution of IMEX Frankfurt 2023, sharing notable achievements in waste diversion and energy use, as well as highlighting opportunities for improvement as Carina Bauer CEO of the IMEX Group explains:

“This is the second report we’ve produced, working with our sustainability consultants MeetGreen®, meaning we can now benchmark our progress against 2022. It’s an opportunity to share our successes and our challenges with the wider industry so that they can take what we’ve learned and weave these into their own events.”

ABPCO has announced its 2024 Festival of Learning “Fit for the Future” content.

The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) has finalised the programme for the 2024 ABPCO Festival of Learning, taking place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on the 29th and 30th of April. This year’s theme, “Fit for the Future,” reflects ABPCO’s commitment to preparing the event industry for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Monday, 29th April kicks off with an exclusive networking session for new members and first-time attendees at the Crowne Plaza, followed by an evening at the Glasgow Science Centre with food, drinks and a fireside session titled “Cultivating Success: The Transformative Impact of Mentoring” featuring Cally Willoughby-Ward of Chatty Penguin, Sammy Connell of NASUWT, Sarah Vaughan of CITMA, and Rebecca Towell of Full Circle.

Monday afternoon attendees will also have an opportunity to take part in an Invisible Cities Walking Tour of Glasgow.

Tuesday, 30th April includes: Event Power – A Force for Good, The Winning Combination, Tips and Hack, Adapting to the Future with Limited Resources – The BEST Example, Accessibility – The Next Frontier in Event Management, Avoid the Pitfalls and Dodge the Disasters – Stay Future Fit by Minimising Risk, and Closing Keynote – Unlocking a future of heightened productivity and reduced stress.

Heather Lishman, ABPCO’s association director says: “Our carefully curated sessions and workshops are designed to empower attendees with the knowledge, tools, and insights needed to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. This is a unique opportunity to explore future trends, network with peers, and drive positive change in our industry.”

EventWell is expanding its support services.

The charitable social enterprise will launch its EventWell® Buddy service at International Confex 2024 in February.

Helen Moon, EventWell founder and chief executive, explains, “It is currently estimated that 15 – 20% of the population are neurodivergent, with approximately 8 out of 10 of those individuals choosing not to attend events due to anxiety, uncertainty around accommodations, communication challenges and more.

We created the EventWell® Buddy service to help reduce potential barriers for neurodivergent attendees by having trained professionals on-site to provide information, comfort and a friendly face to those needing extra support at events.”

EventWell® Buddy Meeting Points provide a designated space at exhibition and conference entrances, Quiet Room or other key locations where attendees can seek assistance from EventWell representatives.

EVCOM, the event and visual communication association, has launched EVCOMference 2024.

The EVCOMference is the association’s annual conference, which gathers industry leaders, experts and next-generation talent together for a programme of keynotes, panels and discussions. It will take place on 22nd April at RD Studios, London.

This year, the programme is underpinned by facilitated discussions across three core areas: Harnessing Tech, Business Solutions and Building a Better Industry. Within these streams it will be touching on topics such as virtual production and AI, preparing for growth and maintaining a hybrid workforce, neurodiversity and apprenticeships.

Find out more about the event, here.

The Power of Events has launched a new Careers Hub.

The not-for-profit company – which aims to showcase the UK events industry – has designed the hub to showcase the depth and range of career opportunities available across the seven sectors that make up the UK events industry.

The hub states: For people looking to change roles, those looking to start their careers and those interested in events currently working in other industries, the hub is packed with information and links to advice, insight, and support. This includes the five main routes into the industry and a glossary that reveals the breadth of job roles across all the different sectors. It also includes links to some of the key support organisations that have helped curate the content and can provide more support and information.

Check it out, here.

Meeting Needs has rebranded as a charity foundation.

Chris Parnham, Meeting Needs chair, said that the refocus is “to better clarify what we are and what we do.” The brand’s new strapline reads: Meeting Needs is a foundation that awards life-changing grants to small charities, with funds raised from within the meetings and events industry.

View from the EDGE

EDGE Venues’ Commercial Director, Scott Ford, summed up this February’s monthly Insights:

Image of Scott Ford, with his comment: "“beam’s new focus on collaboration is something the whole world of M&E could benefit from so we look forward to what comes next from the industry association. And it’s great to see industry events like IMEX Frankfurt keeping an eye on sustainability with its event report – it isn’t going away, rightly so, but how meaningful are many of the new ‘developments’ we often hear about in our space?”

12th January 202112th January 2021

IMEX Frankfurt 2021 cancelled

Events industry affected by Coronavirus – Major industry trade show cancelled for second year

EDGE Venues have just been made aware that IMEX Frankfurt 2021 has been cancelled for the second year.

It is a disappointing blow to the events industry and we would like to express our heartfelt thoughts to the IMEX team.

The IMEX event is a major industry trade show that brings together our industry to network and generate business.

Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO of Trinity EDGE Holdings Ltd comments ” I personally wish to thank Ray, Carina and all the great IMEX team for their continued support. Our industry is a community that supports our clients in an everchanging world. It is a shame that this key event for our industry has been cancelled.”

EDGE Venues will continue to publish articles on the coronavirus situation and how this affects the event industry.

Keep up to date with all the latest news here

12th March 202012th March 2020

Government is not advising to ban events at this stage

EDGE Venues learns that IMEX 2020 has been cancelled due to Coronavirus

Update on the coronavirus issue following today’s COBRA meeting

Following todays COBRA meeting the government is now moving to a ‘delay’ phase against coronavirus which has now been classed as a global pandemic. PM Boris Johnson has said that banning events will have little effect on containing the spread of the virus. He also commented that ” All stages we are guided by the science.”

There is not yet a national reason to distance people socially according to the Chief Medical Officer.

11th March 202012th March 2020

IMEX Frankfurt 2020 is cancelled

Events industry affected by Coronavirus – Major industry trade show cancelled.

EDGE Venues has just been made aware that IMEX Frankfurt 2020 has been cancelled which has resulted in the events industry again being affected by Coronavirus. This is a disappointing blow to the events industry and we would like to express our heartfelt thoughts to the IMEX team.

The IMEX event is a major industry trade show that brings together our industry to network and generate business. It is a great shame that this event has now been cancelled.

Jacqui Kavanagh, CEO of Trinity EDGE Holdings Ltd comments, “The cancellation of any event is very sad news. These events are business-critical as our professional industry needs to network, discover new products and ideas and build relationships.

Our industry is a community that supports our clients in an everchanging world. Meetings and events, whether local, regional or global are a point of change delivering a positive impact, return on investment and a return on business. It is of great sadness that this key event delivering into our industry has been cancelled.”

EDGE Venues will continue to publish articles on the coronavirus situation and how this affects the event industry. Daily articles are published which can be read here.

If you would like to contact us regarding this subject or any other articles we have published our contact details can be found here.

19th November 201919th November 2019

Convention Bureau Italia showcase Italy as a meetings destination

Italy at Hand, an international meetings event organised by Convention Bureau Italia to showcase Italy as a meetings destination, has reported a successful event.

The event, which was held at Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome between 7 and 9 November, welcomed more than 180 participants.

These delegates included those from the public sector as well as special guests such as Ray Bloom, president and founder of IMEX Group and Patrick Delaney, managing partner of Sool Nua, who are both leading figures in international meetings and events industry.

A total of 1,165 business meetings were held during the three-day event between 45 international buyers from both events agencies and in-house corporate event teams and 35 Italian exhibitors which aimed to showcase Italy as an events destination.

“Project quality, love of one’s country and a strong innovative drive in the international MICE sector: these are the ingredients that gave birth to Italy at Hand, The Event, the second edition of which has just ended with resounding public success,” said Carlotta Ferrari, president of Convention Bureau Italia.

“We take pride in the enthusiasm of the participants and the satisfaction of the Buyers and Exhibitors. They are a clear demonstration of the validity of our idea: to show the best of Italian know-how to the whole world, without neglecting creativity and enjoyment. I would like to thank the whole CBItalia team as well as our partners, who together have allowed Italy at Hand – The Event 2019 to achieve such excellent results.”

Italy at Hand also incorporated interactive activities to break up the monotony of back-to-back meetings. The activities were based on four themes, art, love, rituality and innovation, which, according to the event organisers, are Italian characteristics that only “hands can express”.

Next year, the Italy at Hand event will be held in Matera, a city on the rocky outskirts of the Basilicata region, in southern Italy.

21st January 201921st January 2019

Exhibitions and Forums – what they can offer an organiser

Katharine Jordan, Director of Marketing, Trinity Event Solutions

Over the years, I’ve been to many exhibitions, forums, workshops, networking events and educational trips and now I’m quite selective about the ones that I attend. It’s important to use my time well and I need to make sure that my clients will benefit from the places I visit and people that I meet.

Last year, I went to and M&I Forum in Sorrento, IMEX America and The Meetings Show in London. I attend a different event every year to get a wide view of the conference industry, make new connections, catch up with old contacts and keep in touch with what’s going on.

Industry Forums

There are several organisers of forums and I feel that these events give us three main benefits:

• One-to-one meetings with a selection of hotels and venues who really want to do business with you. There’s time to talk about my clients’ events and how they will match the venues.
• Introduction to a destination, to see how it can work for your clients. You’ll experience a hotel, offsite dining options and activities in the area, so by the end you’ll understand what that destination can offer, and the logistics involved.
• Networking opportunities, with venues, agents and corporate organisers. It’s a great way of learning what’s going on in the industry, sharing experiences and benefiting from other people’s knowledge.

You’ll might have some free time during the event and be able to visit another venue or just explore the area and get a personal perspective of the destination.

Exhibitions

IMEX in Frankfurt, IBTM in Barcelona, IMEX in Las Vegas, The Meetings Show in London and many more … there are plenty to choose from.

I hadn’t been to IMEX America for years and went specifically to talk to North American venues for a client who regularly holds events there. I attend to the European shows for European destinations and The Meetings Show for the UK venues, but usually only go to one every couple of years.

The exhibitions are great to meet everyone in one place, although there is very little time to explore the destination whilst you’re there. You’re committed to pre-booked appointments and it’s worth keeping some time free to walk the show, see what’s new, catch up with old contacts and attend educational sessions. IMEX is well organized and the appointment booking system is flexible, so that if you get a last-minute brief it’s possible to change your diary to suit.

What I hate

• Wasting time, but I think that applies to all of us. I don’t want to leave home in the early hours, to catch a plane which arrives at the destination at 10am for an event that starts in the evening. If that’s necessary because of the flight times, then I arrange site visits myself, during the day at competitors’ venues, which is probably not what the host venue wants.
• A packed diary of appointments at an exhibition. I’ve been allocated meetings at times before I arrive at the event and with exhibitors of no interest. How is that of benefit to either of us? A couple of breaks during the day are essential to eat and collect your thoughts before the next session.

Knowledge is key to us all and when I attend an industry event I always learn something unexpected. The forums and exhibitions are constantly evolving and for me, these are about keeping in touch with what’s going on, finding out about new venues and experiencing something different.