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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Well over 100 event management students from various institutes across Melbourne have expressed their interest to volunteer for the 30th St Kilda Film Festival taking place at the end of this month (23rd May – 1st June 2013). Over the past week (Monday 29th April – Friday 4th May 2013), these Melbourne-based students received an [...]

Each year Australians are responsible for thousands of great events both at home and abroad. The Australian Event Awards aims to recognise their achievements.  The Australian Event Awards is the pinnacle awards program for the Australian Events Industry and is now in search for a home. The Event Awards provides an opportunity for Australian events, Event Managers, [...]

The ISES Melbourne Chapter’s annual Student Conference at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins is set to deliver an outstanding line up of presenters and panellists on Monday, May 13, 2013. This year’s theme, “Creative Events: Colour, Light and Sound,” will feature industry professionals from the fields of music, sport, hospitality, festivals, fashion and the corporate sector. The [...]

More than 1,700 people gathered in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) Plenary for a free public event to hear about the evidence, challenges and extraordinary successes in reducing mortality and disease at The Graeme Clark Oration on Monday 29 April 2013.  The Club Melbourne Ambassador Program is a sponsor of the ICT for [...]

ExpoNet has taken home one of the exhibition industry’s highest national honours winning the national award in the Exhibition Services category at last night’s Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) National Awards Ceremony held in Darwin. The exhibition and events supplier was recognised for its outstanding provision of products and services to the conference, meeting and [...]

The Meetings and Events industry awards for 2012 were presented at the gala dinner to finish off the 2013 MEA conference e in Darwin – and the winners are Individual Awards Operations Person of the Year Business Development Person of the Year Event Manager of the Year Meetings Manager of the Year Y MEA Future Leader MEA [...]

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday, marking a milestone for the Australian events sector. Centre Chief Executive Ton van Amerongen said the May 4 silver anniversary was cause for celebration across the business events industry. “The past 25 years have seen remarkable development in the national business events landscape,” [...]

Over 1500 delegates attending the travel and tourism industry’s largest tradeshow in the southern hemisphere, the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), capped off the successful week with the grand finale, The Last Shout by Tourism Australia on the balcony of The Star Event Centre in Sydney on Tuesday evening. Hosting buyers, exhibitors and media from Asia, [...]

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia’s (EEAA) latest Market Monitor report reveals a relatively optimistic outlook for the industry but warns of emerging levels of caution particularly among exhibition and event organisers. Joyce DiMascio, General Manager, EEAA said that the insights of the EEAA Market Monitor track key facts and trends about the health [...]

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort will soon have a brand new multi-purpose conference facility after receiving a grant through the Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund (TIRF). The recent approval of a $250,000 grant will enable the award-winning resort to enhance their current Airlie Beach accommodation and event venue and build a new facility with multiple spaces [...]

Renowned Sydney Venue and Catering collection, Doltone House takes out the NSW 2012 Meetings & Events Industry Award for Specialty Meeting Venue. Doltone House has been announced as winner of the 2012 NSW Meetings and Events Industry Award for the Specialty Meeting Venue category, following a win in this category last year.  The prestigious night [...]

Queensland will host than 124 major and regional events scheduled in 2013 with the purpose of attracting visitors and supporting tourism in communities throughout the state. Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), a new entity established in December 2012, combines the resources and expertise of Tourism Queensland and Events Queensland. Tourism and events are intrinsically linked [...]

After just two months on the market, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has already significantly expanded its Melbourne Values You program, now presenting more than 100 offers from premium hotels, venues and service providers throughout Victoria, Chief Executive Officer Karen Bolinger announced during ATE. Melbourne Values You is an initiative launched at the 2013 Asia-Pacific [...]

This week, global integrated event services company, Staging Connections took out the state title for Western Australia (WA) in Meetings & Events Australia’s Industry Awards 2012, as the Queensland (QLD) team now look towards achieving the national Hall of Fame. Entering the MEA Awards for the first time, the WA office submitted an entry in [...]

Over the past year ACEM have been asking event management professionals about their professional skill and knowledge development needs. As a result ACEM have developed a series of workshops that we believe will address matters of interest to the practising event manager. These workshops deal with sustainability, marketing events in the digital world, risk management and creativity. [...]

Melbourne and Olympics Parks and Tennis Australia today announced that Delaware North Companies has been appointed as the official caterer for the Australian Open, Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the Melbourne Park Function Centre.  Melbourne and Olympic Parks CEO, Brian Morris said Delaware North had secured the new contract following a robust and competitive [...]

The Australian Dental Association has announced that the 36th Australian Dental Congress will return to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in March 2015. Brisbane has previously hosted the biggest Australian Dental Congress in history when the 2011 event attracted a record 4,000 delegates. Australian Dental Association Federal Sales and Events Manager, Oscar van [...]

Melbourne has received a glowing report card from executives representing international conferences following the BestCities Client Workshop 2013, held from 9 – 12 April, hosted by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB). MCB is a founding member of the BestCities Global Alliance: a network of nine international convention bureaux – Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, [...]

The Hunter Valley has been home to some culturally significant Aboriginal sites for thousands of years, but until recently a relatively well-kept secret.  Ngurra Bu is a not-for profit organisation set up by established by a group of Hunter Valley Indigenous people. It has recently commenced guided tours of these sites located in the Broke [...]

The Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) has welcomed the announcement of plans to expand exhibition facilities at Sydney Showground announced at the EEAA 2013 Leaders Forum in Bowral yesterday. Sydney Showground told industry leaders it would be calling for tenders for a new a new purpose-built exhibition pavilion of 8,000sqm of clear span [...]

Sydney Showground General Manager, Peter Thorpe, has just announced that a new, purpose built exhibition pavilion will be constructed at the Showground in the coming months. This latest investment in infrastructure follows on from major works completed last year on Sydney Showground Stadium. Mr Thorpe stated that, ‘It’s no news to anyone that demand for [...]

Tourism Australia has confirmed the appointment of a new Regional General Manager Japan and Korea. Andrew Reilly has been announced in the position and will commence in the Tokyo-based role in May. Mr Reilly has extensive experience working in Asia, and has previously worked for Tourism Australia (then the Australian Tourism Commission) as Marketing Director for Japan/Korea [...]

NSW Governor, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir has joined Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Victor Dominello, to announce that Sydney will host the largest, annual, national Indigenous arts and cultural festival in Australia’s history. Called Corroboree, the new annual festival will find a home in Sydney [...]

Fun-loving national audiovisual company Scene Change will be livening up the MEA National Conference in Darwin with the launch of their own beer and cider brand, Scenechang. Scenechang is a refreshing premium lager ideally suited to consumption with finger food in the tropics. It’s a limited-edition beer, made purely for MEA conference delegates. They are [...]

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s signature gala event space – the Plaza Ballroom – home to the majority of Brisbane’s premier gala and celebrity events, now proudly showcases what is perhaps the largest artwork on display in Australia. A painting by the highly regarded Aboriginal artist, Dorothy Napangardi, has been reproduced on to the Ballroom’s [...]

The City of Sydney is seeking creative talent to develop Sydney New Year’s Eve events for the next three year cycle – 2014-16 – to further its status as the New Year’s Eve Capital of the World. The expression of interest period opens today for companies or individuals to provide creative services for the City’s [...]

The World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) famous global culinary challenge will start its Australian leg with the semi-final in Perth this week. For the first time in the challenge’s history, Dilmah tea will form a key component of the competition menus, emphasizing tea as an important ingredient in fine food. As a key part [...]

Darwin Convention Centre is fast becoming a venue of choice for major events and conferences – particularly those of medical and scientific associations. In the final week of March, Darwin welcomed the return visit of a major conference since opening, when the highly influential Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) returned for their [...]

A farewell function was held last month at the National Convention Centre, Canberra to mark the handover of general manager duties from Cindy Young to Steve Wood. In attendance were many representatives from industry, community and government from Canberra and beyond. Paul Donohoe from BDW Special Events Management delivered a thank-you speech and here is an edited transcript. Welcome to [...]

The Exhibition and Event Association (EEAA) is continuing to extend its reach into Queensland with an April events program that will showcase the new Royal International Convention Centre (RICC) and include a briefing on Brisbane’s economic development agenda. Joyce DiMascio, General Manager EEAA said that the Association recognises the growing importance of Queensland in the [...]

Hot on the heels of his Australian national win in 2012, EPICURE’s MCG Culinary Centre Pastry Chef Deniz Karaca has been crowned the winner of the 2012- 2013 World Chocolate Masters Asia-Pacific region selection held recently in Taiwan. Organised by the leading Gourmet brands Callebaut®, Cacao Barry® and Carma®, the 2012-2013 World Chocolate Masters event [...]

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is celebrating a record number of wins at this year’s Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) NSW Awards event, topping five categories in the prestigious awards. In recognition of its professionalism and leadership in venue management, the Centre was announced the winner of the awards for Meeting Venue – 500 [...]

Asia-Pacific’s great minds and industry leaders in solar and hybrid technologies are to join forces in the Top End in the latest coup by Darwin Convention Centre. Thanks to a joint effort with the Global IDN and the Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB), next year will see Darwin’s award-winning convention centre host the second Asia [...]