Olivia Powell

Convention Centre Dublin awarded Gold Healthy Venue accreditation

The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) has announced that it has been awarded a Gold Healthy Venue accreditation, making it the third venue in the world to achieve the highest-level accreditation by the World Obesity Federation’s Healthy Venues Award programme. The CCD was previously awarded a Silver status in 2017 but after completing the required evaluation criteria, the venue has now been upgra...

Edinburgh First appoints new head of business development team

The commercial arm of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh First, has announced that it has appointed former Marketing Edinburgh business tourism chief Amanda Ferguson (pictured) as its new head of business development. Bringing more than 15 years of experience, the appointment of Ferguson to the business development team at Edinburgh First aims to re-establish the success of the University’s ho...

VisitScotland appoints new director of industry and destination development

VisitScotland has announced the appointment of a new director of industry and destination development to succeed Riddell Graham, who is retiring in September after 45 years at the national tourism organisation. Rob Dickson (pictured), executive director of corporate improvement and economy at Scottish Borders Council, will take over the role on 11 August. Dickson has held senior roles in Scottish ...

Eventbrite launches new marketing platform

Global self-service ticketing service and experience technology platform Eventbrite has launched Eventbrite Boost, a marketing platform designed for event organisers. According to a recent survey Eventbrite commissioned with YouGov in the UK, the majority (55%) of respondents attending events said they typically find out about them on social media. Eventbrite Boost aims to help event creators mark...

5,000-cap Barcelona pilot show had no impact on Covid spread

​ In news that bodes well for the UK Government’s Events Research Programme, organisers have found there was “no sign” of increased Covid-19 infections following a pilot test event with 5,000 fans at a Love of Lesbian show at Barcelona’s Saint Jordi Arena (cap. 17,000), during which there was no requirement for social distancing. The event, which was organised by Festivals per la Cultura Seg...

European cardiology congress to return to London in 2024

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has announced today that the ESC Congress will return to London in 2024. The event will be held at ExCeL London from 31 August-3 September 2024. When the Congress last came to London in 2015, it attracted 32,700 delegates from 140 countries. The 2021 ESC Congress had been slated to run in London but is now a digital-only event in August. Isabel Bardinet, ES...

Davies Tanner and IBTM Events launch Global Destinations Marketing & Communications Report

Hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism PR agency Davies Tanner has announced the launch of its Global Destinations Marketing  & Communications Report in partnership with IBTM Events on the IBTM Connect platform. Taking part in the launch were: Neil Brownlee, head of business events at VisitScotland; Tracy Halliwell MBE, director of tourism, conventions and major events at London & Partne...

venuedirectory.com announces global expansion

UK-baed venue database, venuedirectory.com, has announced an expansion of its global operations, confirming deals to supply data to companies based in the USA, Australia and Canada. The company also announced that Michael Begley is changing his title from managing director to CEO of the company. To support this international integration and to consolidate this global growth, venuedirectorycom has ...

NHS Nightingale hospitals to shut at the end of April

The NHS Nightingale hospitals are to be decommissioned at the end of April, NHS England has confirmed. Five of the seven Nightingale hospitals in England were constructed at prominent event venues, including ExCeL London (pictured), the NEC, Manchester Central, Harrogate Convention Centre, and UWE Bristol Exhibition and Conference Centre. The field hospitals were built to provide extra capacity fo...

UK All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Events and Sports seek testing clarity

The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Events and Sports have jointly written to the secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden MP (pictured), to ask for further clarity on how Covid-19 testing might work ahead of the planned reopening on 21 June, as announced by Boris Johnson, 22 February. In the letter, APPG chairs Theresa Villiers MP (events) and Ben Bradley MP (s...

Staycity reports UK bookings surge

Dublin-based aparthotel operator Staycity has reported that it has seen UK bookings surge this week following the UK government’s recovery roadmap, announced on 22 February. Bookings across the group’s 11 UK properties rose by 333% in the 24 hours after the announcement, compared with the previous week, with £312,000-worth (US$360,680) of business taken on 23 February alone. Staycity co-founder an...

HeadBox launches hybrid event audit in UK

UK-based event tech company HeadBox has developed a hybrid audit to “ensure event venues are hybrid-ready once live events are allowed to return”. The audit, developed in partnership with UK-based event management company Wise Productions, consists of a questionnaire for venues to fill in to ensure they have the basics in place to run hybrid events. Venues will then have the option to ...