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Qatar’s today fuelling its tomorrow
Ramy James Salameh is on the ball in Qatar, reporting on the MICE goals to be netted as part of the world cup 2022 tournament’s legacy Unless you live on Mars, you will be aware that Qatar will host the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East this year. The tournament will be a series of ‘firsts’: hosting the tournament in European winter (21 November-18 December) and being the most compact W...
Driving data
Luis De Souza (pictured), CEO of UK-based NFS Technology, reveals how to harness data and technology in order to better understand customers and businesses An emerging trend at International Confex 2022 in London this year was data, specifically how it can showcase the power and reach of events. Venues competing in today’s fast recovering marketplace now have access to better data tools than ever ...
UK culture secretary calls for Russian participation to be banned from events
By Emily Wallin. The UK’s culture secretary Nadine Dorries has called for Russian participation to be stopped at all UK events. Speaking in the House of Commons, Dorries said Russia will be banned from attending or competing in sporting events and called for events organisers to block Russian involvement and cancel performances. She also called for the cancellation of the UNESCO World Herita...
Olympia London to be managed by ASM Global
The world’s largest venue management company, ASM Global, has been appointed to run operations at Olympia London, Emily Wallin reports. The senior management team and all Olympia London staff will move to the international venue management giant. Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance International will continue to own the 136-year-old venue. Olympia London managing director Nigel Nathan will take on a...
All together now
Gabby Austen Browne, co-founder of Diversity Ally, in the UK, says employers must provide inclusive support to keep employee – and delegate – wellbeing at the forefront: We have all heard of that statistic recognising the events industry as one of the top five most stressful careers in the world. Believe me, I know. Rewind three years and I was overweight, lacking energy, tired all the time and su...
The coming events revival
Sven Bossu, CEO of AIPC, says live events are coming back because the global economy needs it The year of 2021 has seen us go through the cycle of hope, fear, and disappointment. Most recently, the high hopes continental Europe had for Q4 were crushed by the fourth Covid-wave, which will most likely also push back the projected 2022 business boom in the region. On the other hand, we see business b...
Canadian winter incentives tale that is open all seasons
Simon George reports from Destination Canada’s inaugural winter incentive programme and finds an incentive strategy in structural and seasonal alignment Destination Canada, in December, hosted the first winter programme of its flagship B2B event, Incentive Canada. The event, hosted in both Vancouver and Whistler showcased Canada’s incentive/meetings offering to international organisers. The five-d...
Star Àni(se)
Exclusive and very private, Simon George finds that ÀNI Sri Lanka offers star potential: Spice route Spice is synonymous with Sri Lanka. Cinnamon quintessentially, cardamon, cumin and cloves certainly, nutmeg notably and no self-respecting biryani dish or packet of five spice would be without star anise. Collectively they make up the distinctive aromas that pervade the country and provide the esse...
Zuddl raises $13.35m to fund growth
Virtual events platform Zuddl has raised US$13.35m in a Series A funding round. The San Francisco-based company currently employs around 75 people and has ambitions to develop a more intuitive platform for all internal, external, hybrid or virtual activity, according to Zuddl’s co-founder and CEO, Bharath Varma. He said: “This new round of funding will enable us to continue building on the foundat...
Time to stop waiting for Covid to go?
Padraic Gilligan (pictured), chief marketing officer, SITE & SITE Foundation, notes: ‘We’re living with Covid, working with it, working around it, working through it. Clients need to meet, to deliver their incentive travel programmes, to stage their events’ I don’t think anyone, even the late, great Nostradamus, would have predicted a year ago that 12 months hence we’d be marking another Chris...
Forward to the future – Our global community
In a first column for CMW, ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath (pictured) says the Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for the business events industry to reassess its core values and mission. Our outlook through the current challenges has been one of optimism, collaboration, flexibility, and openness to change and we’ve been able to align more closely with our customers’ needs. We’ve all been impacted...
Why virtual events are here to stay even after in-person events return
By Cathy Song Novelli (Pictured): Not so long ago, in a world of lockdowns, venue closures, and social distancing rules, all in-person or physical events came to a halt. At that moment, the virtual events landscape helped global businesses break the geographical barriers and connect and engage with their audiences. While some countries are still battling the delta variant and many Covid-19 cases, ...