NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade & Investment Andrew Stoner today announced Vivid Sydney 2013 an unprecedented success, with preliminary estimates showing record attendance of more than 800,000 people across the 18-day event. Visitors flocked to the biggest Vivid Sydney ever, which included the largest Vivid Light Walk expanding into North Sydney with the [...]

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Helen Mantellato has been honoured with an Order of Merit in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Olympic movement over the past 20 years. The Director of Sales – Exhibitions at the Centre, Ms Mantellato joins a small and distinguished group of Australians who have been awarded the [...]

Vivid Festival 2013 was a resounding success for Accor’s Sydney hotels with hotels in Circular Quay, The Rocks, Walsh Bay and Darling Harbour recording record results. Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, which has guestrooms directly facing the Harbour Bridge saw occupancy growth of 8.6% compared to last year. So much was the hotel favoured by [...]

Following on from last month’s announcement of the new Exhibition & Event facility at Sydney Showground, the Royal Agricultural Society is now in the position to provide further certainty to the industry by confirming significant progress. Development consent has been received and, following a detailed procurement process, a contractor selected.  It is anticipated that contractual [...]

The significant design and medical contributions of three Club Melbourne Ambassadors were officially recognised in the Queen’s Birthday 2013 Honours List that was announced yesterday. Dr Ken Cato received the Officer (AO) in the General Division for his distinguished service to the graphic design profession as a practitioner, and through education and development roles both [...]

The Adelaide Convention Bureau and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) have forged a relationship that is delivering results well before the world-class $200 million health and medical research institute officially opens its doors later this year. Just announced is the successful bid by the Adelaide Convention Bureau in conjunction with SA [...]

Artist and musician Reg Mombassa will use his unique vision and absurdist humour to help Sydney Shine even brighter as Creative Ambassador for 2013 Sydney New Year’s Eve. Among the motifs created by the Glebe resident to characterise Australia’s biggest public event are a high-rise Sydney Opera House and a single ‘all-seeing eye’ to represent [...]

Today the ACT Government announced both the renewal of the Canberra Convention Bureau’s three year ongoing base funding and an additional $400,000 over two years to encourage more business visitors to Canberra. “We commend the ACT Government for the announcement of this funding as it will enable the Bureau to continue its valuable contribution to [...]

Five incredible courses were created by five of Melbourne’s best for the annual Starlight Five Chefs Dinner at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) on Friday 24 May. MCEC were proud to host and sponsor the major Starlight Children’s Foundation fundraiser for the second year and help the charity raise more than $400,000 on the [...]

Destinations have a unique opportunity to host the Australian Event Awards, and promote themselves to the national industry. The Australian Event Awards is the peak industry awards program for Australia, and is currently on the search for a home. Destinations from around Australia can bid to host the event for three years, from 2013-2015. The [...]

Sofitel Melbourne On Collins and Sofitel Sydney Wentworth recently played host to the 2nd annual Sofitel Sales Mission for Australia. The team, led by Sofitel Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, Andrew Hartley, welcomed 11 colleagues from overseas. Those making the trip to Australia included Sofitel Saigon Plaza, General Manager, [...]

Over 1,300 delegates representing hundreds of first nation peoples travelled from 50 countries to attend the first-ever World Indigenous Network (WIN) Conference held 26th-29th May at the Darwin Convention Centre. Looking out to the serene harbour, an ancient site of connection where the Indigenous Larrakia people of Darwin welcomed and exchanged stories with other peoples, [...]

The Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) has announced the appointment of Domenic Genua, from the Boating Industry Association of NSW as its new President following the Annual General Meeting held at Doltone House in Sydney last week. Mr Genua has served on the Board of the association for 11 years including as Treasurer. [...]

With construction of the new Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP) in Darling Harbour taking place between late 2013 and 2016, Luna Park Sydney announced it will expand its venue offering to cater for the vast demand of Sydney’s event and exhibition requirements during this period. Situated on a massive 5.5 acres of [...]

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner have announced the NSW Government has secured CeBIT Australia, the Asia Pacific arm of the world’s largest trade fair, in Sydney for 2014-16. CeBIT Australia is the largest business technology event in the Asia Pacific, attracting more than 30,000 attendees from more than 45 countries each [...]

Dockside Group, owner of seven venues and restaurants, are building their support of the events industry through four new key industry initiatives – the Australian Business Events Expo (ABEE), Sydney’s Event Showcase, The Australian Society of Association Executives and the Associations Forum National Conference. Dockside Group hosted the 2013 VIP Buyer Program launch of ABEE [...]

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) was alarmed by the news that Infrastructure NSW (INSW) terminated negotiations with the preferred consortia formed to design, build and operate the interim exhibition centre at Glebe Island. In the past four working days, the association has met with INSW three times and received assurances that the facility [...]

Infrastructure NSW today confirmed it will provide temporary exhibition facilities at Glebe Island to support the industry during the construction of new world-class facilities at Darling Harbour. Construction of the new convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities at Darling Harbour will begin at the end of this year and the facilities will open in December 2016, [...]

After a three year contracted involvement, the Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) will retire its partnership with CMS Events’ Perth Event Show. “The Perth Event Show was developed some five years ago, at a time when PCB was considering changing its charter to support local, State-based events.  This change did not eventuate, and as such PCB’s [...]

The EEAA has been advised by Infrastructure NSW that it had terminated negotiations with Sydney Harbour Expo for the creation of temporary exhibition facilities at Glebe Island. The EEAA has been advised that after lengthy negotiations, satisfactory arrangements could not be concluded. In a letter to members via the EEAA website General Manager Joyce DiMascio [...]

Industry leaders have inspired the next generation of event managers and brand visionaries at the 5th annual International Special Events Society (ISES) Melbourne Chapter’s Student Conference. More than 350 students from educational institutes across Victoria attended the  conference which was held on Monday, May 13, 2013 at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, with the  theme `Creative [...]

The recent announcement by the Federal Government to implement a $2000 cap on work-related self-education expenses would lead to a decline in skills in the events industry, disadvantaging Australia on the competitive global marketplace. That’s the grim prediction from the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) as it fights to have the policy overturned. “We are [...]

It’s been a big year for the Summernats, the largest automotive lifestyle festival in the southern hemisphere, with over 100,000 people and 1,767 entrants attending Summernats 26 and a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous burnout ever staged. 643,000 Australians tuned in to ONE HD to watch the annual national broadcast, and thousands more [...]

Support for the Brisbane Truck Show – Australia’s premier transport industry event – soared during the recent four day event held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC). The Truck Show, organised by the Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland (CVIAQ) delivered an unprecedented 8% increase in visitor numbers for its second show held [...]

Hamilton Island is now offering free Wi-Fi access to guests staying on the popular Whitsundays’ Island. One of the first major Australian tourist destinations to offer complimentary Wi-Fi, guests staying at the Reef View Hotel and Palm Bungalows will now receive a complimentary 400MB broadband package upon arrival, which can be used both In Room [...]

The Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) has launched two new web steaming packages to give clients an opportunity to use their events as a platform to reach a larger audience. ACC was the first Centre in Australia to install new web streaming capabilities in all its major meeting venues and continues to lead the market in [...]

Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) launches Conference Mobile Application and unveils new corporate logo at IMEX Frankfurt 2013 In view of the growing demands for Malaysia as the preferred global meetings destination, the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) took the opportunity to launch its new Conference Mobile Application and Delegates Privilege Card at [...]

Moreton Hire has again delivered an award winning Custom Design stand for CAT Trucks at last weeks’ Brisbane Truck Show; taking out the prize for the most Outstanding Truck Manufacture Display. The CAT Truck stand was a clear favourite among visitors and hard to miss with its vibrant branding and innovative use of platforms. 3 [...]

The Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) 2013 pre-touring program has again proven successful with 100% of survey respondents indicating they either plan to (83%) or may (17%) bring business to Melbourne/regional Victoria in the future.  Around 180 Hosted Buyers and media representing 25 countries in addition to Australia participated in one of 13 pre-touring [...]

Sydney CBD’s newest premier venue Doltone House raises the bar  Following the announcement in September 2012 of an exciting new meeting, conference and events venue address being added to the leading venue portfolio, Doltone House | Hyde Park, Elizabeth Street Sydney, has exceeded the artist’s impressions. The soft opening dedicated to Doltone House staff and [...]

Expanding its resources to enhance creative services to clients, MCI announces the acquisition of creative events agency Off-Site Connections Event Solutions Australia (OSC). Creative and technical event solution specialists OSC have been operating in Australia for 18 years, producing high end events for a variety of local and international corporate clients and industry sectors including [...]

MyCEB creates business events milestones through new product developments In its continued proactive efforts to develop the country’s business events industry, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) will once again be participating in the upcoming Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events (IMEX) Frankfurt 2013. Set to take place from the 21-23 May, MyCEB [...]

Sydney continues to boost its enviable reputation as the first place in Australia to do business, topping the country’s results in the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) Country and City Rankings Report*. The harbour city ranked number one in Australia for conferences and congresses and number 24 worldwide, a rise of ten places from [...]

Despite being more than three years away from completion, the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) is already kicking goals with considerable interest being expressed by potential national and international clients. Business Events Sydney (BESydney) in conjunction with the ICC Sydney operators, AEG Ogden, have moved quickly to position the venue and the city itself [...]

NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner congratulated Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) Ambassadors for their assistance with generating almost $400 million in economic impact for New South Wales. Speaking at the annual Ambassador Dinner and Investiture, Mr Stoner acknowledged the value of business events as a key driver of both the State’s visitor and knowledge economies. “Business events [...]

Australian Transport Industry’s premier event, the Brisbane Truck Show – the 5th biggest transport equipment show in the world – returns to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on Thursday May 16th.  More than 35,000 visitors are expected to attend the four day event which is the largest single event to be held at the [...]

The Australian Centre for Event Management (ACEM) has announced the newly appointed Director of the London Festival and former head of Edinburgh Fringe Festival Director, Paul Gudgin, will host a two day Festival Management Master Class in Sydney from 13 -14 June. Gudgin’s experience as a Director of the world’s largest arts festival has made [...]

ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) is pleased with the potential economic growth impact for Auckland generated by a New Zealand International Convention Centre being built in the city, as announced today by the government. As Auckland’s economic growth agency, ATEED has shown support for the development of an international scale Convention Centre in [...]

The international convention centre for Auckland is desperately needed and long overdue, says Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ). The business tourism advocacy group is welcoming news the government has signed a Heads of Agreement with SkyCity to build a new international convention centre in Auckland. “This is great news for Auckland and for the country [...]

Audio visual production specialists AV1 turned an industry on its head this week at the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) National Conference in Darwin, taking out the award for Technical & Creative Production against year-on-year finalists Staging Connections QLD, VIC and WA. Accepting the award on Tuesday 7 May at Darwin Convention Centre dressed in [...]

Staging Connections’ New South Wales and Victorian teams are delighted to be crowned winners in the Education category alongside six of the events industry’s best at the Meetings and Events Australia National Industry Awards Ceremony on Tuesday night.  Collecting the award on behalf of the very proud Staging Connections’ teams was Terry Oomens, Director of [...]

Malaysia is the first country in South East Asia to host Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) Annual National Conference 2014 The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), established by the Ministry of Tourism, announces another bid win for the country- the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) Annual National Conference 2014. The announcement was made at [...]

Organisers of Sydney’s Event Showcase have confirmed one of Hollywood’s leading event producers as their keynote speaker for their 2013 educational program, the Event Seminars. Cheryl Cecchetto Talks Governors Ball with WEBNWEBN-TV / Foter.com / CC BY-ND Cheryl Cecchetto will draw from her 25 years at the top of events when she delivers her keynote seminar [...]

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has won the national award for Corporate Social Responsibility at the Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) Awards, further endorsing its already established credentials in that area. The receipt of the prestigious CSR Award in consecutive MEA national Awards is a clear demonstration of BCEC’s leadership in what the Centre [...]

Leading child welfare charity Barnardos Australia is thrilled to announce Anna Cesarano as their new Mother of the Year Awards Business Ambassador and member of the awards’ judging panel. Now in its 18th year, Barnardos Australia’s Mother of the Year Awards is the charity’s flagship event, which honours and recognises the enormous contribution that everyday [...]

The management and staff of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre had good reason to celebrate this week by collecting four awards at the annual Meetings & Events Australia’s national Industry Awards of excellence. Prime convention and exhibition centres in Brisbane, Adelaide and on the Gold Coast also collected major awards, highlighting the nationwide quality [...]

Sydney has shone brightly once more, with Australia’s leading convention bureau, Business Events Sydney (BESydney), taking out the national Metropolitan Destination Marketing Organisation Award at last night’s Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) Awards. Held at the Darwin Convention Centre, the annual awards were among the highlights of MEA’s 26th National Conference, which ran from 4-7 [...]

Last night, the MEA National Meeting Manager of the Year award was presented to MCI Australia Project Director, Cindy-Lee Bakos. Cindy-Lee took home the prestigious Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) national award for her work on three key events: the Asia Pacific Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association Congress, the Commonwealth Business Forum, and the combined FAOPS-PSANZ congresses. [...]

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) Prue Rogers has been named Business Development Person of the Year at the prestigious National Meeting and Events Australia (MEA) Awards in Darwin last night. As Assistant Director of Sales Rogers’ success is due to the significant results she produced for MCEC during the 2011/12 financial year, working [...]

The Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) has expressed its disappointment that the Victorian Government has not committed to expanding the Melbourne’s exhibition facilities in the 2013 State budget handed down yesterday. The Association has been campaigning for the Government to allocate the funds for the expansion that was part of the vision for [...]