Insight: Issue 145 | Wed 19 July

Hola a todas nuestras amigas del evento!

And massive congrats to the latest Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz in capturing his first Wimbledon title….and to the BBC production team for showing the eternally youthful Brand Pitt almost as many times as there were games. Looking superfly Brad!

In this week’s bulletin, we have: Glasgow to host 3,000 sports scientists in 2024; Three core components to deliver a successful virtual event; Sustainability becoming a greater priority for planners; Planning events with people and planet at the forefront; and Paul Thandi to become NEC Group Chairman.

Glasgow to host 3,000 sports scientists in 2024

G’aun yersel! Glasgow was announced as the 2024 host of The Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) at the closing ceremony of the 2023 conference in Paris (7 July 2023).

The event, which will be held at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), 2-5 July 2024, is expected to attract 3,000 delegates and contribute nearly £5m (US$6.46m) to the city’s economy. It will mark the first time in 28 years that the meeting will be held in Scotland.

The announcement comes as Glasgow holds the title of European Capital of Sport (ECOS) 2023 – and becomes the first city to hold the title twice, 20 years after first achieving the accolade.

Aileen Crawford, head of Glasgow Convention Bureau, said: “Paris has handed the ECSS baton over to Glasgow. We are so looking forward to welcoming the delegates to our city next year. The conference has been in planning for many years, so we are thrilled the news is out and our European Capital of Sport, Glasgow, is officially announced as the next ECSS host city.”

Three core components to deliver a successful virtual event

Creating an engaging atmosphere is essential to making sure that participants feel connected and motivated throughout your virtual event.

However, without the right platform and a reliable partner to call on should you need help, your event can quickly become disjointed and leave event attendees feeling unlikely to return.

This article from Event Industry news outlines three handy tips to ensure maximum engagement. Want to know what they are? Then simply click the link below…..

https://www.eventindustrynews.com/news/uk-and-europe/three-core-components-to-deliver-a-successful-virtual-event

“Sustainability becoming a greater priority for planners,” says TBOE

The Business of Events has released its 2023 International Planner Sentiment Report. The report illustrates the current thinking of event buyers from a range of disciplines across the UK, Europe and North America in terms of their priorities when selecting a destination or venue.

The importance of sustainability, skills and equity have all tracked higher in this year’s report, reflecting the increasing importance of those areas within the events sector and the focus that has been on them during the past 12 months.

Martin Fullard, director, news and content at The Business of Events, said: “As you would expect to see, cost and value for money remain a key factor in decision making when it comes to selecting a destination or venue, although more so among UK planners than in Europe and North America.

“Predictably, accessibility and ease of travel also tracks highly, so destinations with better air and rail links will find themselves at an advantage.

“Sustainability is tracking 1.5 points higher in all regions than in 2022, although North America is lagging behind the UK and Europe. Although, safety and security is ranked far higher among US planners.”

Planning events with people and planet at the forefront

As the world heats up and the climate crisis becomes a stark reality, Sarah Yeats, Managing Director at Sledge, has outlined to Conference News how event organisers can meet green briefs.

From ‘assessing your own commitments’, to ‘taking an internal deep dive’ Sarah clearly and succinctly describes how businesses can effectively respond to such briefs.

Click to find out more.

Paul Thandi to become NEC Group Chairman

Finally, it’s been announced that Paul Thandi CBE, DL, is to step into the position of chairman after 16 years as CEO of the company.

It comes as the NEC Group announce several changes to its team. Current chairman Peter Phillipson will step down from the NEC Group board in September. As of 4 September, Melanie Smith CBE will take on the role of NEC Group CEO.

On his move, Thandi said: “To be at the helm of this incredible business for so many years has been an honour and I look forward to maintaining a key role in driving the growth of the Group. We have been lucky to secure Mel to take on the leadership position. The importance of our people and my belief in giving them the best leadership, support and strategy, are all values that Mel shares close to her in her business and personal life, and I look forward to working with her over the coming years. It has been the greatest pleasure being CEO – there are more incredible things to come for the NEC Group.”

Congrats Paul!

We’ll draw a line under the world of events news for another week.

Catch y’all on the flipside for another liberal sprinkling of chat and happenings. And who knows? Maybe Summer might have actually appeared before then…..