Olivia Powell
IEG hosts first fully Covid-secure in-person conference for 1,500 delegates
The Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) recently hosted its first fully in-person event following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Grand Lodge 2020 meeting of the Grand Orient of Italy was held 11-13 September at IEG’s Palacongressi di Rimini, and drew 1,500 attendees. Held in the Sala della Piazza, the event was able to be hosted in a Covid-secure way with reportedly “no significant changes to the usu...
Three Incredible Impacts
The Incredible Impacts Programme, an annual initiative run collaboratively by ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance, has announced the three winning associations. Now in its fourth year, Incredible Impacts aims to highlight “examples of excellence within the global meetings industry”. The winners of this year’s Incredible Impacts grant are Ecocity Builders and the BCIT Ecocity Centre, th...
Future Meeting Space network publishes innovation catalogue 4.0
The Future Meeting Space innovation network has released its innovation catalogue 4.0, an overview of innovative technologies from AI to quantum computing. Founded by the German Convention Bureau (GCB), the European Association of Event Centers (EVVC) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, the Future Meeting Space innovation network provides a platform for event professionals...
Budapest rallies to the Power Of Live Events
The #PowerOfLiveEvents initiative, along with the newly-formed Budapest Convention Bureau and the Budapest Festival and Tourism Centre and industry associations, recently hosted an all-day live Power of Live Events Conference. The event was held at the Puskás Arena, and saw the launch of the safety protocol and Covid handbook for business events. In order to comply with Covid-19 guidelines, there ...
Los Angeles Convention Center earns LEED gold recertification
The Los Angeles Convention Centre (LACC) has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Gold level for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EB: O&M) for the third time. LEED was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), and is a green building rating system that ensures that through design, construction and operations practic...
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre opens its virtual doors
Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has partnered with Christchurch-based extended reality (XR) technology company JIX Reality to launch a virtual tour of the centre. JIX Reality is providing immersive technology to showcase the building to potential Te Pae Christchurch clients and the community. The result is virtual tour that can be viewed online, or using a smartphone, iPad or virtual reality...
75% of DMOs have seen budget reductions due to Covid-19, survey reveals
A new 2020 DMO Funding Survey published by European Cities Marketing (ECM) has shown that 75% of Europe’s urban Destination Management and Marketing Organisations (DMOs) have seen budget reductions as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with some reporting that the cuts were more than 50%. ECM has called for decision-makers at local, national and EU level to “recognise the need f...
Leeds Digital Festival launches September edition
Leeds Digital Festival launched the second edition on 21 September. Running until 2 October, it will include 294 events. The earlier online edition of the festival in April drew participants from over 50 countries to its events, and the September edition aims to have a similar international reach, with events including EUROCITIES and Leeds City Council’s joint event, which will look at how opportu...
bd4travel’s August 2020 traveller booking insights show a dip after July peak
Frankfurt-based travel AI data company, bd4travel, has released its monthly consumer intent and demand insights for August, analysing the peak summer period. The data shows overall traffic to travel websites decreased 19% in August versus July 2020. Visitor numbers with booking intent which peaked between 5-28 July, near tripling compared to June, as European destinations reopened following lockdo...
CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park appoints new sales manager
CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park has announced the appointment of its new conference and events sales manager, Laura Reddaway (pictured). Reddaway brings to the role over a decade of experience as an event specialist across international tradeshows and venues, and will oversee bookings for the venue as anticipation builds for the official opening next year. Lara Burnes, general manager of Premier Eve...
ATEC aligns with WTTC Safe Travel protocols
The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has announced that it has aligned with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), becoming an agency with the authority to issue Australian tourism businesses with the globally recognised ‘Safe Travel’ stamp. The stamp has been developed by the global travel and tourism industry body to recognise businesses which adopt standardised health and hygien...
Bogota announces South American M.I.C.E Alliance
The Convention Bureaux of Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, São Paulo and Quito Tourism, has announced the creation of the South American M.I.C.E Alliance, an inter-institutional cooperation aimed which aims to “develop, promote and position these capital cities as M.I.C.E destinations, as well as increasing opportunities for hosting events”. The cooperation agreement is based on three strat...