LEEDS 2023, Martyn’s Law to include small venues, Global Business Events matter, & more

This Monday’s Insights (19 December) feature brings you LEEDS 2023, a call for inclusive approach to hospitality recruitment, and more.

Headlines

LEEDS 2023 – the year-long event of creative experiences – is nearly here!

Leeds 2023 will deliver a transformational year of creative experiences that visitors can enjoy to immerse themselves in local life. The planned programme will celebrate and transform the city’s identity locally, nationally, and internationally – creating a lasting legacy of economic and social impact.

The delegate experience offering in Leeds will see a huge boost because of the year-long event. From dance to design, art to architecture, poetry to pop, sculpture to sport, grassroots community theatre to performance in the city’s varied venues, Leeds is set to be centre stage in the UK’s cultural scene.

Conference organisers can ensure that delegates don’t just visit the city of Leeds, but experience it too with an exciting line-up of events throughout the year starting with The Awakening on January 7th, an unmissable opening ceremony which will see Headingley Stadium graced by the likes of Corinne Bailey-Rae, Simon Armitage, Kadeena Cox OBE, Inder Goldfinger and Graft for an evening of variety and entertainment. Hosted by Gabby Logan and former Leeds United player and broadcaster Sanchez Payne, the event aims to celebrate Leeds’ past, present and future, and will kickstart the whole year of culture with a bang.

Events that follow The Awakening include ‘1001 stories’ in April, which has been developed by Leeds Playhouse and The Performance Ensemble and puts the voices of older people centre-stage telling stories of love, life, youth, and joy. A programme inspired by Leeds-born, world-renowned engineer and astronomer John Smeaton, ‘Smeaton 300’ tours the city from June to December, and allows people to explore the art of engineering, while ‘All That Lives’, a reimagined celebration of Day of the Dead, masterminded by Leeds artist Ellie Harrison and Mexican artists Zion Art Studio, will take place in November at Leeds Playhouse and Leeds City College.

The delegate experiences on offer in Leeds’ have already helped the city secure its place as one of the most popular conference destinations in the UK, and the vast series of events next year are sure to cement its position as a leading global conference destination. Conference organisers are encouraged to explore the range of events and celebrations being delivered as part of LEEDS 2023 to enhance their conference offerings and ensure their delegates are left with a lasting impression of their time in the city.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “LEEDS 2023 is an exciting year of culture that will show the world everything this fantastic city has to offer. We know that our creative talent rivals anywhere in the country, and LEEDS 2023 will give people a fantastic opportunity to express themselves, all while boosting our local economy.”

Claire Heap, Head of Conference Leeds, commented: “We are thrilled with the number of experiences on offer as part of LEEDS 2023. The cultural experiences that are on offer in Leeds already attract a huge number of conference and business events, but the line-up announced for LEEDS 2023 is a fantastic display of what this year-long celebration of culture will bring.”

“The timetable of events will give delegates even more of an opportunity to apply their learnings and expand their thinking through creative and thought-provoking events and activities, and we would encourage conference organisers to contact the Conference Leeds team to align their conferences to ensure their delegates experience exceptional.”

Find out more about LEEDS 2023, here.

Skift says Global Business Events matter more than ever for driving regional economies

In a recent Skift Meetings feature, Miguel Neves, writes: ‘Global business events are critical drivers of financial gain for destinations. They impact regional development in the short and long term, and their influence has profound political impacts. In addition, they generate predictable revenue and attract desirable business tourism. However, despite all the benefits, not all destinations can develop successful global event strategies.’

Read the full feature for views full report following Skift’s Global Forum East event in Dubai.

Conference News has spoken to events venue, Athena, about how the working from home culture has impacted the way we run events. It says event organisers must now consider three things, following its qualitative research with corporate event planners.

Check it out in Conference News, here.

Raising Edinburgh’s global profile

The EICC has launched an academic advisory board, named the Exchange Initiative, to help raise Edinburgh’s global profile, drive international association conference business and innovative research coming out of Scottish universities.  The initiative aims to promote and encourage the vital role that senior academics play in attracting international association conferences, which translate to tens of millions in economic impact for the city and region every year, while the collaboration is also set to increase the international standing of the university sector and leading academics.

Elaine Miller, Association Account Business Development Manager at the EICC, said: “Associations conferences help position our universities, the EICC, and Edinburgh on a global stage, whilst showcasing the leading research coming out of our universities. 

“There are also significant long-term benefits in attracting these large-scale events, as the collaboration, knowledge exchange, and relationship building that takes place at conferences helps to inform change and creates lasting impact.  The EICC and Exchange Initiative group recognise these benefits and want to ensure there is more engagement with policymakers, industry bodies, Scottish Government agencies, and other academic research institutions.”

Read the full story, here

How has the meetings industry evolved in 2022?

In another great article from Skift Meetings, you can read the key themes that came from industry events and report this year, including ICCA Congress and IMEX. Here’s a hint – the industry is changing!

Read it here!

Double Take

Richi Sunak has confirmed that Martyn’s Law will include small venues

The Government has confirmed that draft legislation to enforce stronger protection against terrorism in public places such as venues will be published in early spring.

Venues with a capacity of over 100 and fewer than 800 will fall into a ‘standard tier’ of those required to create action plans outlining measures to mitigate the threat from terrorist attacks.

Read the full story on Exhibition News.