Liverpool becomes first UK city to join Hybrid Cities Alliance

The Liverpool Convention Bureau has signed up to become the first city in the UK to join the Hybrid Cities Alliance. The city on the Mersey joins the likes of Geneva, Sydney and Seoul. The Alliance brings together more than 20 cities from around the world to work together on ‘multi-city hub’ events; where attendees can meet face-to-face in hubs located in different cities or countries, all connected through an online platform. The last year has shown the limitations of digital-only events, and feedback has underlined the preference of meeting in-person. However, with international travel restrictions continuing to be unpredictable, the hub format offers a reliable way for people to attend international events in-person. The city’s convention centre, ACC Liverpool, has continued to develop its products throughout the pandemic such as offering hybrid and virtual events, including from a professional hybrid studio able to securely stream sessions live to an event website. Productions range from a single session with one presenter to a virtual panel session with presenters in different locations or multiple sessions at the same time. The venue recently held its first fully virtual event, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress. A total of six sessions featuring 300 different speakers were hosted on the Glisser event platform and ACC Liverpool’s production team created a bespoke website for ‘on-demand’ videos of the presentations. Delegates were able to view the sessions live during the conference or for three months after the meeting. Jennifer Jensen, head of Liverpool Convention Bureau, said: “With international travel almost non-existent over the last year, business events have been dealt a severe blow. However, as shown by the UK pilot events the city recently hosted, people are still desperate to meet in-person. The industry has responded by looking at new ways of doing events, and I firmly believe the multi-city hub format is here to stay and can benefit Liverpool.” The Hybrid Cities Alliance has recently published a white paper about hybrid events, which can be read here.