Australia’s conference for event professionals, Evolve, will take place in Melbourne, 1 July, Melbourne supported by major partners, Melbourne Convention Bureau, Accor and EventsAIR.
The conference theme this year is ‘
Building Confidence through Best Practice’ and content has been developed, organisers said, from feedback taken from an industry survey conducted by MEA in December 2020.
Now in its 37th year, the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) industry association’s one-day event will be hosted at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins and include 18 plenary and concurrent sessions, including a welcome networking function the evening prior. Satellite venues will support in Sydney and Brisbane, along with a virtual hub through the
Building up the events capital
CMW pings some questions Down Under for Melbourne Convention Bureau chief executive Julia Swanson.
Tell us about your early career in hospitality, and how you moved into destination marketing.
I spent 13 years in the hotel sector, initially in operations and then into an area director of sales and marketing role. I loved that sector but was drawn to having a broader scope of promoting the city I love to an international audience.
Business events is an amazing sector to work in; we work with such a variety of venues, professional conference organisers, hotels, event producers and exhibition companies. We are also fortunate to work with global leaders in science, medicine, business and academia, for whom we can help build international collaboration platforms. It is very rewarding seeing business events come to life and deliver real economic and social outcomes for the city.
Networking at Pause Fest 2020. Photographer: Priscilla Pho.
The Victorian State Government is offering grants of up to $25,000 for business events held in Melbourne, in a bid to encourage interstate travel into the city and get cash running through the events supply chain again.
Administered by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), the National Business Event Program funding initiative is intended to help business organisers cover the costs of hosting an event, with 50% of the funds available upfront, before the event starts.
The cash can be put towards venue hire, accommodation, transport and other costs.
Detailed eligibility criteria for the scheme has not been released, but events must be held in Melbourne before December 2022.
VIC Premier
The Andrews Labor Government is backing the state’s business events industry
Acting Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Mary-Anne Thomas today announced the will soon open to expressions of interests for funding up to $25,000.
The program will be administered by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) with eligible events including conferences, exhibitions, workshops and seminars.
The grants can be used to fund venue hire, accommodation, transport and other event costs to spread the benefits across Victoria’s business events supply chain, with 50 per cent payable before the event commences to minimise any financial risk.
Melbourne has a strong track record in hosting prestigious conferences, supported by ideal event infrastructure with easy connections to quality accommodation, public transport and exciting city experiences.
BestCities Global Alliance names new board appointments
LONDON, 12 days ago An international network of leading convention destinations around the world, BestCities Global Alliance has Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, and Vancouver as its members. BestCities said the new appointments bring a wealth of valuable experience and fresh global perspective to the board of the alliance – just in time as the industry steps into a new era of innovation and revitalization. Kit Lykketoft, Director of Conventions at Wonderful Copenhagen, will take over as Alliance Chair, Dr Edward Koh, Executive Director at the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, will be joining the board in a new role of Incoming Chair, which will be centred around Partnership development and future-proofing the Alliance.