This year the events industry’s BestCities Global Alliance is celebrating 25 years of championing and facilitating legacy-making business events that make the world a better place. Through initiatives like the Incredible Impacts Programme and the Madrid Challenge, the organisation has helped to guide the industry towards a legacy of sustainability, positive social impact, and close-knit community.
A reminder that BestCities launched during the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) in Melbourne, Australia in 2000. Gary Grimmer, executive chairman of the Gaining Edge consultancy, was at the time CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, one of BestCities’ original partner destinations.
“BestCities was conceptualised in 1999 in Puerto Rico, where the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus was holding its annual meeting,” says Grimmer. “Rick Antonson of the Vancouver bureau and Jack Munro of the Edinburgh bureau asked me to meet with them to discuss the concept. Our goal was co-promotion through a collaborative process that elevated the successful outcomes for conventions that came to our destinations. We also wanted to offer a unique convenience where meeting planners could engage with a number of potential destinations simultaneously, instead of just one at a time. I’m impressed at how far BestCities has come over the past 25 years.”
“Melbourne is thrilled to have been a part of BestCities for 25 years,” says Julia Swanson, CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau and incoming Board chair of BestCities. “I look forward to the many exciting opportunities still to come as we continue to build on the legacy of innovation and real-world impact that BestCities has fostered for a quarter of a century.”
25 years of milestones
In 2000, BestCities launched with five members. Today, it has 13 partner cities: Berlin, Germany, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Denmark, Dubai, Dublin, Guadalajara, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.
In 2016, BestCities hosted the first Global Forum in Dubai, achieving a 100% delegate satisfaction rating. Since then, the annual gathering has attracted over 185 association attendees. The most recent Global Forum, held in Dublin 24-26 January, 2025, hosted 21 association representatives.
In 2017, BestCities, in collaboration with ICCA) launched the Incredible Impacts Programme, which honours international association meetings that achieve a powerful, lasting societal impact. Over the years, the programme has distributed $200,000 in funding to help associations advance their world-changing initiatives.
In 2021, at the Global Forum in Madrid, BestCities introduced the Madrid Challenge – a pledge from destinations and associations to integrate impact and sustainability into daily conference planning. From an initial batch of 23 pledges at the Global Forum in Madrid, the Madrid Challenge has grown to 61 association meeting planners who have joined the community.
“Over the past 25 years, BestCities has achieved a number of accomplishments that have made a notable impact in the global meetings industry,” says Edward Koh, Board chair, BestCities. “We are eager to step into an even brighter future as we move towards a more sustainable, socially impactful industry.”
For more information about BestCities Global Alliance, visit www.bestcities.net
