At BestCities, we’re all about meeting and getting together with our partners and clients. This much is evident through the way the purpose of our events weave through each other in synergy as we continue to promote collaboration and a strong sense of community.
Notice that the main talking points of some of our most-anticipated happenings revolve around the themes from these three events:
- The Madrid Challenge, which was kicked off in last year’s Global Forum and focuses on the impact that events leave
- The Destination Vancouver - Capilano University research project, a project that will create a framework of event legacy best practices, designed to increase the overall sustainability of the global tourism sector through societal impacts from the events industry.
- The upcoming Global Forum in Vancouver, where, in combination with fantastic education programmes with prominent industry professionals and plenty of networking opportunities, the results of the above research project will be shared.
Through the events outlined below, the representatives of our partner cities and we continue to bridge gaps and create opportunities for everyone in and around the industry to build stronger networks.
IMEX America 2022
In IMEX America 2021, there were over 50,000 appointments booked as buyers and exhibitors met and discussed event opportunities. This year, we envision even better numbers through our hosted buyers program as we deliver a year’s worth of business in a span of three days.
The BestCities hosted buyer group is open to all international meetings and event planners. Through this program, you can get the chance to meet our partner destinations, network with suppliers and other key people in the industry, be part of the Madrid Challenge movement, and get exclusive access to relevant learning sessions.
Are you a US based buyer? Sign up here.
International buyers can sign up here.
ASAE Annual Meeting 2022
For this year’s ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Nashville, our very own Director for Business Development & Community Engagement, Tia Daniels, will be joining a panel in a learning session entitled ASAE Global Summit: The State of the Association Community.
In this session, Tia will be talking about the impact of events and the legacy that events can leave. The Madrid Challenge will be highlighted here, knowing that this initiative was borne from the idea that events and meetings can inspire positive change, especially in the destinations where they are held.
PCMA: Convening EMEA
Registration is now open for PCMA: Convening EMEA, which will be happening on September 28-30 in Vienna. This year’s theme is “Together We Move Forward”, where there is once again an emphasis on making an impact and laying the right foundations for the future.
Of course, BestCities, represented by Lesley Williams, will not be missing this opportunity to talk about legacy in one of the educational sessions being planned for the event.
Stay tuned to the official event page for more updates.
BestCities Global Forum 2022
Registration is now open for this year’s BestCities Global Forum, which will be happening in partnership with Destination Vancouver. As with the previous years, this will once again open doors for creating connections across industries, building networks among our partner destinations and industry peers, and experiencing the impact that events have made in Vancouver.
Stay tuned to the Global Forum page (and our social media) for more details about the programme.
Meeting Planner Guides Compilation
We’re always committed to giving MICE professionals the most seamless possible experience when they put their events together. That’s why we’ve put together a list of meeting planner guides from our partner cities to give you easy access to vendors, venues, activities, and other essentials that will help you build the best events.
Click this link to access the article.
Updates From Our Partner Cities
Here are some updates about our partner cities as well as a rundown of events to look forward to.
Guadalajara
The Gay Games will finally be happening in 2023 with Guadalajara co-hosting with Hong Kong. The event was previously postponed due to complications brought about by the pandemic, but organizers and supporters are looking forward to finally making things happen as they continue to campaign for awareness around the LGBTQ community. With the games happening in a Latin and an Asian city, this event is expected to make a huge impact not just in these localities, but globally.
Stay tuned to the Federation of Gay Games site for more details.
Meanwhile, Guadalajara has been chosen as a candidate host city for the 26th World Congress of Dermatology happening in 2027. The mix of ancient traditions and modern touches made Guadalajara the perfect setting for such an event.
The city’s food and restaurant industry is also getting a fair share of the spotlight as Alcalde, one of the city's best restaurants has been named one of the world’s best restaurants. Ranked 51st against all the other restaurants around the globe, Alcalde has been a part of Latin America’s top 50 restaurants for years.
All of the focus around Mexico’s 2nd largest city isn’t surprising, knowing that the Guadalajara Tourism Board has also been putting in the effort to get more investments into the area. Alcalde’s inclusion as one of the world’s best restaurants cannot come at a better time, knowing that restaurants like Yunaites and Mateos are paving the way to post-pandemic success through a thriving restaurant industry.
Expo Guadalajara, the largest convention center in the city, has also invested 23M Mexican Pesos to add safety protocols, making them ready than ever to host even more events in the coming years.
Singapore
Singapore is ready to welcome MICE planners back into the country as they successfully showcased what they had to offer in the recently concluded IMEX 2022 in Frankfurt. They highlighted their focus on sustainable events and emphasized the event assistance programs that they have in place for anyone interested to choose them as an event destination.
Watch this video to see some highlights from Singapore’s IMEX 2022 exhibit.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Tourism Board partnered up with American Express Global Business Travel to produce a white paper called “Ready, Get Set, Go Green!”. The paper highlights Singapore’s sustainability initiatives and how they’re performing so far from economic, environmental, and social perspectives.
Read the white paper here.
Houston
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 “Best Hospitals” as the #1 center for cancer care in the country. MD Anderson has always placed in the top 2 since the survey was first launched in 1990, and its ability to maintain this for decades further proves its exemplary performance.
Meanwhile, in the culinary scene, Houston’s Restaurant Weeks (HRW) returns on August 1 and continues until September 5. Over 200 restaurants are expected to participate in the 36-day event, with the Houston Food Bank receiving part of the proceeds. Since its conception, the HRW has raked in $17.6M equivalent to 52.8M meals.
For more information about the HRW, click this link.
Dublin
The Aer Lingus American College Football Classic kicks off on the 27th of August with the first game in its series between Nebraska and Northwestern. This will be the first Northwestern Wildcats game played outside the United States. The game will be held in Aviva Stadium with a capacity of 48,000 and Dublin expects to welcome 18,000 US fans and 5,000 European fans for game week. Next year will see the return of Navy v Notre Dame for a Week Zero game on Aug. 26, 2023.
National Heritage Week, 13-21 August, an initiative by the Heritage Council, celebrates all things heritage. It brings together communities, families, organisations, cultural institutions, academics and enthusiasts, to build awareness about the value of heritage and support its conservation.
Since it was first held in 1864, the Dublin Horse Show has held over 168 national & international equestrian competitions, including Friday’s famous Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ for the Aga Khan Trophy. Regarded as one of the most prestigious annual show jumping competitions in the world, the competition for the Aga Khan Trophy attracts some of the best international horse and rider combinations from around the globe. Packed full of events for all the family.
The Dublin Convention Bureau also attends (or has attended) the following events this summer:
- C&IT Festival of Forums, Glasgow 27-29 July
- CityDNA Summer School, Turin 27-31 August
Dubai
The success of the Dubai Expo concluded in March continues as the United Nations announces that next year’s 28th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) will be held at Dubai Expo City from November 6th to 17th, 2023.
The annual event brings together heads of state, industry leaders, academics, representatives from the private sector, and other key people who want to join and contribute to the discussion on how to reduce the impact of climate change.
Tokyo
Tokyo has been selected by the World Athletics Council to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships. Japan will host the event for the third time. The National Stadium in Tokyo, the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, will be used for the event. In 2025 the Japanese Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Click here to read the press release.
Melbourne
MCB's marketing team has launched its latest inspiration tool – the interactive Melbourne e-guide. Connecting event planners and delegates with inspiring new and undiscovered experiences of the city, the first edition of the Melbourne e-guide showcases a snapshot into why Melbourne is a coveted destination for domestic and international conferences.
MCB attended the official announcement of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) 2023 that will be held in Melbourne 2023. MCB delivered the successful bid to bring the GEC to Australia for the first time and it’s expecting to attract 3,000+ attendees from 200 countries across the globe to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Julia Swanson moderated a panel discussion between industry experts who shared insights on sharing ideas for future success within major events and business events at the Meetings & Events Australia’s (MEA) Evolve conference in Melbourne.
Melbourne hosted the 31st Annual Neuroscience Meeting (CNS) at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre across 16-17 July. Attendees from across the globe delivered an estimated $ 3 million in visitor economic impact. This was the first time in 31 years that it’s been held outside Europe and the United States of America.
Berlin
For the second time, the Berlin Convention Office and market management from visitBerlin have invited to “Bestival”, a business festival for national and international event and tourism experts. Venue will be the Berlin Meeting Campus with Kino International, Café Moskau, Badeschiff and Glashaus of Arena Berlin. The patron of the event is the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey.
At the center of this innovative business festival are personal encounters and unique experiences that can only be had in Berlin. The comprehensive two-day program includes presentations, live acts, panel discussions, workshops, network opportunities and site inspections.
On Thursday, August 25, participants can put together their own individual “Bestival” program, choosing from five thematic areas, which show the many facets of the city – Berlin Sustainable: Urban Jungle, Berlin Glamour & Lifestyle, Wild Berlin, Art & Music Berlin, and Innovative Berlin. With our networking tool personal discussions can be booked.
Organized theme tours are offered on the second "Bestival" day. More than 100 industry partners will be represented at the business festival, many of them inviting guests to post-events on Friday and to the "Long Night of Hotels" for after-work drinks and networking.
All the event information, speaker highlights and registration form can be found at: www.bestival.berlin
The entire conception, organization and implementation of the "Bestival" follows a sustainability strategy based on the criteria of the initiative "Sustainable Meetings Berlin" as well as the ISO 20121 for sustainable event management.
On September 15 and 16, the Q-Berlin Conference will address the big questions of our time for the fifth time, focusing on the current moment of Zeitenwende - a moment of global unknowns. Numerous challenges such as profound shifts in global dynamics, an ongoing war in Europe, a pandemic spanning over two years, a looming energy and economic crisis, and increasing pressure to accelerate the green transition contribute to the state of crisis that defines the world we live in now. International thought leaders, politicians and experts from a wide range of disciplines will develop new perspectives for tomorrow's world live in Berlin and in virtual 3D space.
Interested? More information at: https://q.berlin/
Vancouver
The MICHELIN Guide heads to Vancouver, making our partner city the 2nd Canadian destination for the famed culinary guide. Vancouver surely deserves this honor, with its thriving community of chefs and other culinary professionals continuing to deliver one sumptuous meal after another.
Meanwhile, in the art scene, the Vancouver Mural Festival has announced its 2022 lineup. With more than 30 new murals to appreciate all over the city, expect mural tours, block parties, and other events from August 4 to 14 in celebration of the city’s urban art.
Cape Town
Business events prove to be a vital agent for post-pandemic economic recovery with 11 bid wins secured by Wesgro’s Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau in quarter one of this financial year. The bids are estimated to contribute almost R100 million over the next five years into the business events value chain.
The majority of the bids won are within the medical sector, with four medical conferences scheduled to be hosted in the destination between 2022 and 2024. The rest of the secured bids span agribusiness, aviation, entrepreneurship, environmental, politics and the tourism sector.
Amongst the 11 bid wins are prominent large conferences predicted to attract over 1000 delegates from across the globe. These include the African Agri-Investment Indaba 2022, the Regional Conference for the International Symposium of Blood Transfusion 2023, and the International Epidemiology Congress scheduled to take place in 2024.
Click here to read the press release.