BestCities at IMEX Frankfurt
IMEX Frankfurt has come to an end, once again successfully bringing together the entire MICE community to connect with other MICE professionals, share best practices, learn from the best, and more.
Representing BestCities in the event were (from left to right) Tia Daniels, our Director for Business Development & Community Engagement, Nigel Brown, our Director for Marketing and Partnerships, and Lesley Williams, our Managing Director.
With our colleagues and partners from all over the world gathered in one city, we took the chance to hold our board meeting, our Strategic Business Development (SBD) team meeting, and our joint board and SBD meeting.
Our group of Strategic Thinkers also took advantage of IMEX Frankfurt to have a meeting for the very first time. Our ST group was formed to serve as our co-creation partner who gives guidance on industry trends.
The BestCities Breakfast was also a huge hit! Dr. Edward Koh, the newly appointed Chair of the BestCities Board, shared his compelling vision for the future. Julia Swanson, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau unveiled more plans for the upcoming Global Forum happening in Melbourne in January 2024. And, of course, attendees were given the opportunity to network with members of the media, association peers, and representatives from our partner cities.
BestCities Welcomes New SBD Group Chairperson
Cathrine Seidel Tvede has been appointed the new chairperson for the BestCities Global Alliance Strategic Business Development group. With over 15 years of experience in the global meetings industry, Cathrine will contribute to growing BestCities’ impact and reputation.
In her role as senior bid manager – congress at the Copenhagen Convention Bureau, she is involved in international bidding and various projects such as the Copenhagen Future Scenarios and other industry-boosting projects aimed at upskilling the local workforce and promoting health and safety in meetings.
Cathrine’s appointment comes at an exciting time for BestCities, as we introduce a new model of our Incredible Impacts Programme, in partnership with ICCA, and prepare for the annual BestCities Global Forum in Melbourne in January 2024. Her role will focus on knowledge-sharing, impact, legacy, and sustainability initiatives.
Updates From Our Partner Cities
It’s another eventful month in all of our partner cities, with a wide range of events and activities that make each city more interesting than the last. Here’s a round-up of what’s going on in our partner cities:
Vancouver
The Meet Vancouver team traveled to Denver to attend the 2023 HelmsBriscoe Annual Business Conference.
It was an amazing opportunity to connect and learn alongside all attendees — representing 40,000+ programs in over 60 countries, HelmsBriscoe is one of the world’s largest meeting planning organizations. Throughout the event, the team made connections with 50+ top-producing and influential associates!
Melbourne
Over the last month, Melbourne has been in the midst of ‘Mega May’, with the city hosting 45 events, including the Rotary International Convention; the International Conference on Software Engineering – (ICSE) and SpineWeek, with close to 17,500 delegates anticipated across these events alone.
In addition to ‘Mega May’, this year, MCB has a broad range of events confirmed spanning varied sectors, including medical bioscience, public health, technology, and engineering. Yet, the health and medical sector continues to be dominant, with 48 medical conferences confirmed for Melbourne over the next five years. This firmly places Melbourne as a top global city for hosting conferences in the medical and healthcare sector – expected to attract 38,000 delegates and a $225 million economic contribution.
Cape Town
Cape Town hosted the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (AlignMNH) last May 8 to 11, with over 1,500 delegates gracing the event. Bringing together various maternal newborn health communities from all over the globe, the event aims to put together solutions that would help improve survival rates among mothers and newborns and prevent stillbirths.
Cape Town and the Western Cape have also successfully welcomed delegates from around the world to the prestigious ISF World Seed Congress. The congress, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from June 5th to 7th, 2023, under the theme “Seed is Life,” brought together global leaders and decision-makers from the seed industry.
Guadalajara
The much-awaited Guadalajara Pride 2023 returns this June with the theme “All Colors, All Identities”. Kicking off the month-long celebration is the pride march happening on June 3, with the goal of surpassing last year’s attendance of 260,000 people.
Over 50 floats are expected to take part in the march, which includes floats from sponsors as well as LGBTQ+-owned and operated businesses.
Meanwhile, Jalisco has been named as one of the Most Progressive Destinations in Latin America in Travel + Leisure’s Global Vision Awards. It was recognized for its ever-evolving inclusive culture over the past four decades, being the home of the first openly gay club in Latin America and the host of the upcoming 2023 Gay Games happening this November.
Berlin
Special Olympics World Games 2023
The world’s largest inclusive sporting event, the Special Olympics World Games, will take place June 17-25 2023 in Berlin. Thousands of athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities compete in 26 sports.
The Special Olympics are the occasion for the unique “Host Town project”, which welcomes international athletes to Germany. More than 200 Host Towns and communal projects have been selected to welcome delegations from all over the world. The largest communal inclusion project in Germany’s history will create a new sense of togetherness while opening up space for encounters far beyond the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023.
BESTIVAL – ISO certification
BESTIVAL 2023 is Berlin‘s MICE and TRAVEL business festival – with 50+ speakers & acts, more than 100 Berlin suppliers and over 800 participants from all over Europe.
BESTIVAL is set to become ISO certified! Sustainability is at the forefront of visitBerlin`s vision and mission. Last year’s BESTIVAL proved that sustainable event planning is possible by embedding sustainability in every action field of the event.
ISO 20121 certification is a globally recognized standard for sustainable event management that helps organizations improve their sustainability performance systematically. Goal of the ISO certification is to set an example for partners and customers, inspire them to adopt sustainable practices and contribute to the collective effort to make the world a more sustainable place.
Tech event highlights in June / July
June and July in Berlin are all about tech events. As one of Europe`s leading tech hubs, Berlin has established itself as a playground for visionaries, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts from around the globe.
From June 5-7 re:publica Berlin, the festival for the digital society, takes place. Followed by GREENTECH FESTIVAL, a global platform empowering changemakers and fostering innovative green technologies for a sustainable future. Beginning of July TOA Berlin, short for “Tech Open Air”, will take place at Wilhelm Hallen. The tech conference and festival covers a wide range of topics, including AI, blockchain, the future of work, digital marketing, sustainability, and more. July 27-28, the world`s leading event for developers, “WeAreDevelopers World Congress” happens at CityCube Berlin and focuses on future trends in modern software development.
Houston
Mayor Sylvester Turner and 45 corporate partners from the Houston business community made their way to Mexico for the 2nd #HoustonWeek Mexico Mission. The trip included roundtables between the Houston and Mexico business communities in an effort to create more growth opportunities and create an impact in the local communities.
STEM literacy declaration MOUs were also signed between Space Center Houston and the Tecnológico de Monterrey for future technology projects.
Singapore
Singapore continues to be a destination of choice in the MICE industry not just because of its world-class facilities, but also because of its business-friendly environment and global outlook. This is why organizations like Lions Club, Milken and Rotary International have once again chosen Singapore as their destination of choice for their future events.
Milken Institute heads the pack with the Milken Institute Asia Summit happening this September, where global leaders are expected to talk about a safer, more inclusive, and sustainable future. Curtis S. Chin, Chair Asia Fellows and Senior Advisor, Global Markets at Milken Institute, shares that it was Singapore’s connectivity, infrastructure and technology that drew them to this city:
Meanwhile, Singapore and its industry partners continue to develop MICE offerings that are both innovative and sustainable in accordance with the MICE Sustainability Roadmap. This involves purpose-built MICE venues, industry-level tracking of waste and carbon emissions by 2023 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, among others.
Tokyo
World Flower Carpet TOKYO held the first time in stunning Hachijojima Island
Tokyo not only has well-known urban areas but also includes islands full of natural attractions, one of which is Hachijojima Island.
The World Flower Carpet TOKYO was held under the theme “From Ephemeral Art to Sustainable Art,” April 5 – 8 on Hachijojima Island. The island, which famously prides itself on its freesia flowers, was the perfect site for Tokyo’s first hosting of this SDGs Conscious Symposium, where novel methods for reducing the environmental footprint of flower art were introduced, followed by a lively exchange of opinions between domestic and overseas participants.
The highlight of the Symposium was the creation of the flower carpet, where delegates teamed up for a fruitful cultural exchange with locals to make the impressive 6-diameter flower carpet from freesia and colored sand. Seeing everyone diligently contributing to this delicate work was a sight to behold.
Business Events Tokyo continues to support the attraction of events to the Tokyo islands. For more information contact our team at [email protected]
Thrilling Technology Boosts Your Event
Technology streamlines event planning, improves participant satisfaction, and increases staffing efficiency.
A new promotional video created by the Business Events Tokyo team showcases how amazing technology can boost your event in our exciting city. Highlights include telepresence avatar robots for remote business negotiations, high-precision positioning technology for people flow analysis, simultaneous interpretation guide for speech multilingualization and transcription, and much more.
We hope planners and organizers get some ideas for business events with unprecedented experiences.
For more information, visit: https://businesseventstokyo.org/ and contact our team at [email protected]
Dubai
Dubai has won the bid to host the International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting in 2026, the first time for the event to be held in the Middle East. The largest global gathering in the intellectual property industry, the event is expected to bring in over 8,000 visitors.
This win is further testament to Dubai’s continued rise to become one of the world’s most viable destinations especially when it comes to meetings, events and conferences. In fact, the first quarter of 2023 alone shows 4.67 million overnight visitors, putting Dubai in a strong position in the race toward being the most visited destination in the world.
Copenhagen
15 SGD pavilions have been placed all over Copenhagen, the World Capital of Architecture. These 1:1 experimental projects done in collaboration with the UIA World Congress of Architects, each pavilion embodies one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Meanwhile, Tivoli Gardens lights up the summer season with weekly jazz concerts. These free performances feature different artists to be joined by the Tivoli Ensemble and conductor Peter Jensen.
Also something worth visiting this summer is the street food market Reffen, with 40 food stalls and 6 workshops and/or boutiques. Expect around 100 live events as well, giving visitors not just a mouthwatering experience but also a highly entertaining one.
Madrid
The Madrid Convention Bureau has been organizing a series of familiarity tours, otherwise known as “fam tours”, to promote Madrid as the best MICE destination for any industry.
One of the most recently concluded fam tours was with seven representatives from different travel companies. The tour was conducted in cooperation with the Spanish Tourist Office in Zurich. Another fam tour conducted last month was for the C&IT Forum, with 32 British accounts visiting some of the most relevant spots around Madrid.
We’d also like to congratulate our very own David Noack Perez who was appointed as a member of the incoming Executive Committee in the recent Annual Assembly of the Iberian & Mediterranean Chapter of ICCA. David is also the new board treasurer here at BestCities.