The Adelaide, South Australian based All Occasions Group certainly knows no boundaries when it comes to event management with the successful completion of a 125 delegate 5 day conference for long-term client Australian Financial Services in Tallinn, Estonia (Google Map it – hint north of Latvia, East of Russia and just across the Baltic Strait south of Finland).
All Occasions Group Director Anne-Marie Quinn said “Australian Financial Services are a fabulous client of ours and we’ve managed their conferences for 7 years in some wonderfully diverse places such as Cairo, South Africa and in various parts of Aisa. When they gave me the location for this year’s event we were thrilled – a relatively unknown destination to most and some wonderful challenges to be overcome – not least of which was the language barrier. However, we worked with an excellent DMC partner whose professionalism helped make the entire process quite seamless.”
Delegate numbers at 125 were slightly down on previous years due to a number of factors including the 36 hour door to door travelling time and the ‘unknown’ factor with respect to the destination itself.
All Occasions Group reports that those in attendance however enjoyed a unique experience in an exceptionally beautiful part of the world. Highlights included a welcome dinner function at Olde Hansa where delegates were welcomed to Tallinn with a Grand Feast to the Honour of Rewalia’s Town Council. To commence, musicians accompanied the Herald of the House as guests were received at the Town Gate. The procession, including drums and bagpipes, then proceeded through the historic narrow streets to the Old Market, where the locals who had been notified of the arrival of the delegation turned out in droves to welcome them to their city.
The conclusion of the conference was equally as grand with a gala dinner held within the magnificent Gothic ruins of St. Bridget’s Convent. The focal point of the night was a fabulous cabaret experience called “The Variety Show” which featured a line-up of exceptionally talented yet somewhat scantily clad Estonian girls performing a variety of dances including Latino, Kozachok – a Russian dance and the crowd pleasing cancan.
Tallinn however is not all old world – delegates also appreciated the surprising modern and high tech conveniences offered in Tallinn. It was this combination of old and new, Medieval and modern, that gave Estonia its unique flavour.
Certainly the conference venue – the luxury Swissôtel, was testament to old world luxury meets today’s technology. In a setting that whilst amid the busy business district, boasted unrivalled postcard panoramic views across the UNESCO listed Old Town and the Baltic Sea, the hotel also delivered on its promise of superb business facilities and experiences.
In the words of the Australian Financial Services CEO, Peter Daly, “having conducted conferences throughout the world including many extraordinary geographic locations including Egypt, South Africa and Asia, Estonia exceeded expectations and along with our conference content, made it arguably the best we have conducted.”
Event Summary:
- Event Host: Australian Financial Services
- Event Manager: All Occasions Group
- Delegates: 125
- Location/Duration: Tallinn, Estonia – 5 days
Programme Highlights:
Board of Advice Panel featuring some of the key Principals and members from the AFS group including Philip Burke, Principal, Planning Associates Pty Ltd; Michael Cirson, Principal, PAK Plans Pty Ltd; Peter Stewart, Principal, Benchmark Consultants
Rags to Riches – Ray Scicluna, Keynote Speaker, sponsored by AIA Australia. Ray represented an extraordinary story in his “Rags to Riches” presentation and delivered an array of messages in an entertaining style.
The Oarsome Adventures, Kevin Biggar, Keynote Speaker
Kevin has rowed across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Barbados in a 7m plywood dinghy and is one of very few people to trek to the South Pole. His presentation was highly motivational with a number of exceptional messages that were pertinent for the AFS Conference and the market sector they represent.
Fixed Income from a Global Perspective, Todd Youngberg, Global Investment, Director – Fixed Income, Head of High Yield Investments, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
Todd was a sponsored speaker provided by Aviva Investors. Given that the AFS Conference was being held in the Northern Hemisphere, the CEO was keen to include a speaker for that sector to provide a partially different perspective into financial markets and the general feedback was that all delegates were delighted with the contribution and content that Todd achieved.
Cocktails before the gala dinner
