Glebe Island Expo

News to hand is that five groups have submitted tenders to design, build & operate an interim venue on Glebe Island – the Glebe Island Expo. The plan is to host exhibitions and trade shows while construction takes place on the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP) from late 2013 to late 2016. The bidders are: Infrastructure Glebe Island Consortium, which include: Cox Richardson Architecture Pty Ltd, Singex Venues Pte Ltd; iEDM Pty Ltd; Probuild Construction (Aust) Pty Ltd - Sydney Harbour Expo@ Glebe Island: Pages Equipment Holdings Pty Ltd - GL Events SA- Expertise Events and Renascent Sydney Pty Ltd. While the successful tenderer will develop detailed plans, the Glebe Island Expo is likely to be constructed as a marquee-style structure. The successful tenderer is expected to be selected in December 2012, while the Glebe Island Expo is to start operating by late 2013.

Luxury Show Founders Split - Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal

Luxury Show Founders Split - Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal

Sydney will host two “luxury and experiential” shows in September 2013, with the cofounders and owners of this year’s inaugural Luxperience event in Sydney each going their own way (BEN breaking news). Luxperience is 50% owned by former Travelcorp founder Helen Logas and Rosemarie Sama, who headed up AIME for some years. Overnight Logas announced that she was the new ceo of Luxperience, while Sama “is no longer with the company”. And Sama has launched her own event, dubbed Luxe Events +

Travel Experiences (LETE) which is scheduled for 02-04 Sep at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal - the same dates and venue planned for Luxperience. It’s not clear where Luxperience will be held now, but according to Logas Virgin Australia has continued its major partner agreement and “dozens of exhibitors from around Asia Pacific and Australia have reconfirmed for 2013 and will be joined by product suppliers from additional destinations such as Europe, the Americas and Africa”.

Sama is pitching LETE as an evolution of Luxperience, saying “her event returns in 2013 with a new format and a new name”. She said feedback from this year showed huge demand, but that “a greater focus on experiential meetings and events was needed”.

Interestingly Sama resigned as a director of Luxperience Enterprises Pty Ltd on 01 Sep this year - before the show started - but according to ASIC records remains a 50% shareholder. Logas said Luxperience 2013 would include a Thought Leaders’ Forum dedicated to top end experiential travel, while Sama’s LETE will feature eight “fun and informative networking events”.

The EEAA reports optimism

The Exhibitions and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) says its latest market monitor, which tracks the health of the industry, reveals increasing business optimism among its members, as the NSW government enters the final weeks of bid evaluations for the new Sydney International Convention Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct at Darling Harbour. This is the second report produced by the EEEA, covering the period of January to June 2012, with consolidated results for the full 2011/12 year. EEAA general manager Joyce DiMascio (pictured) said it is encouraging to see the sector perform strongly with optimistic forecasts for future growth. “Sixty four percent of event organisers report the sectors they are operating in are growing, compared with 52% in the previous six months.  “Members estimate they will deliver 27 new events in 2013 alone,” she said. The report also shows that 38% of trade shows and 10% of consumer events included a paid conference and that EEAA members hosted 649 events. EEAA chairman Matthew Pearce said, “We understand that there is pressure on the Government to deliver much needed social infrastructure – but it must not lose sight of the fact that business events generate profound economic and social benefits to the State. “We urge the Premier and Ministers evaluating the options not to skimp on NSW’s economic future by making a bland choice – this state needs to deliver a flexible, world-class venue that is large enough to allow the industry to continue on its growth trajectory. “The competition is not Melbourne, the competition is the rest of the world and we need a convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct that will be the envy of the world. “As the international panel of experts now considers the two short-listed consortia bids for the Sydney International Convention Exhibition and Entertainment precinct, it is important the evaluation driver is to produce a facility not simply competitive with the best in Australia, but rivalling the best in the world.” According to the market monitor, EEAA members organised 136 events in the financial year ended 30 June 2012, attracting more than 1.6 million visitors and 22,898 exhibitors. Members employed 2,659 full time staff, plus an additional 6,725 part time or contract staff. The industry contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the national economy, the association said.

(Source: Business Events News 12/11/12)

MEA Awards Open 25th National Conference Sydney

The MEA Industry Awards that recognise excellence and best business practice in the Meetings & Events Industry, are now open. The awards encourage industry professionals to excel in the achievement of their business and personal goals, and reward those who achieve outstanding results. Winners enjoy considerable profile within the meetings industry and with the general buying public.

In all but Individual Awards, members self-nominate for an Award by addressing a range of criteria that are relevant to the particular category or categories they are entering.

Candidates for MEA Individual Awards are nominated by a third party such as an employer, client, supplier or colleague who is responsible for completing the written application.

All Award submissions must be submitted on official award submission templates. The submissions are then judged by a panel of industry and independent judges. Short-listed candidates are interviewed by telephone to determine the category winner. Applications close 18 January 2013.

(Source: Business Events News, 7th November 2012)

Crave showcases at the SCEC

The Crave Sydney International Food Festival, staged their two-day,World Chef Showcase at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, transforming the exhibition halls into a massive kitchen for more than a dozen of the world’s top chefs. Two showcase sessions ran concurrently throughout the weekend, with no less than 14 cooking stations created in the Exhibition Centre hall to allow the visiting chefs and their teams to prepare food for their sessions, as well as two lunches for 150 people. 

In all, more than 2500 dishes were served last weekend to an appreciative audience.The chefs, including Italy's No. 1 restaurateur Massimo Bottura, Spain’s Jordi Roca and Italy’s famous pizza chef Gabriele Bonci, cooked a range of dishes for their fans, assisted by a team of 12 chefs from the Centre and 16 volunteer chefs. The Centre also staged a welcome cocktail party for the showcase chefs and many other famous culinary faces including Italian Antonio Carluccio and Australian Maggie Beer.

The Centre’s director of food and beverage Simon Lomas said the showcase was a significant logistical exercise with every chef requiring specific food items for their dishes.Whilst the Centre had many ingredients to hand, others had to be sourced.Unusual items included local chef Alessandro Pavoni’s Parmesan Vacche Rosse – a cheese made from the milk of red cows - and hay, used by English chef Jason Atherton for his full

English Breakfast. “It was a great experience to be working with such different chefs and cooking such different dishes,” Lomas said.

Crave Festival director Joanna Savill said the event was an amazing feat. “Everyone from the chefs to the attendees were impressed with the Centre’s attention to detail and the care that was taken in ensuring that the World Chef Showcase was the premium experience it was designed to be. "We were thrilled with the results,” Savill said.

(Source: Business Events News 2^nd November 2012)

INTRODUCING BUSINESS TRAVEL AT AIME

Now in its 21st year, the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) is recognised as a leading event in the Asia-Pacific region for event organisers and more recently, corporate travel managers.

Industry professionals and exhibitors from all over the world will meet in Melbourne for AIME 2013 and will experience two days of business connections, valuable networking and an extensive Education Program.

Showcasing destinations, airlines, venues and a wide range of products and services from all parts of Australia, the Asia-Pacific and internationally, AIME 2012 welcomed close to 800 exhibitors from 44 different countries and held close to 13,000 business appointments over the two days.

Benefits to exhibiting:

• Meet with over 550 qualified Hosted Buyers and over 3,300 industry visitors
• Over 13,000 pre-arranged meetings between exhibitors and Hosted Buyers take place over two days
• Join over 800 exhibitors from around the world
• Attend the high level ACTE conference co-located at AIME
• 42% of Hosted Buyers organise Business Travel

For more information click on http://www.aime.com.au/businesstravel

BESydney to Manage Bookings for Glebe Island Expo and SICEEP

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) will take on broader responsibility and manage booking enquiries for the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP) and Glebe Island Expo until operators of the new facilities are appointed.

Glebe Island Expo is the interim facility that will house Sydney's major public exhibitions and trade shows during the development of the 20-hectare Darling Harbour site that will be home to SICEEP - a world-class meeting place for the future. 

Infrastructure NSW, which is delivering SICEEP for the NSW Government, will recommend the successful proponent in December 2012 and the operator for the interim facility is scheduled to be announced in March 2013.

Infrastructure NSW Project Director, Tim Parker commented, "BESydney's team has extensive knowledge of the events market and the expertise to oversee both the enquiry and booking process for both Glebe Island Expo and SICEEP. Our aim is to make the enquiry and booking processes as streamlined and user-friendly as possible. BESydney is already bidding on events for 2017 and beyond that will take place in the new facilities. The company is well placed to manage enquiries."

Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of BESydney comments, "The team is pleased to be taking on these new responsibilities. BESydney will be a one-stop shop for business events. Glebe Island Expo is part of the Sydney-wide interim solution that will enable Sydney to remain a vibrant hub for business events whilst SICEEP is constructed. The new facilities will deliver great opportunities for business events in the city, both now and in the future, and the team is looking forward to working closely with the industry to ensure their success."

"We already have a dedicated Event Delivery department that assists clients with sourcing venue options for their events. BESydney has been working closely over the past months to re-home the conferences and congresses it secured for Sydney that will be affected by the SICEEP development. This team will be expanded and will have dedicated staff to take on the responsibilities of the Glebe Island Expo and SICEEP." 

Exhibitions that will be affected by the SICEEP development will have first right of refusal for bookings for the interim facility. It is anticipated there will also be scope for additional events to be secured for Glebe Island Expo.
BESydney's Event Delivery team will manage the bookings and Robyn Johnson, General Manager Event Delivery, comments, "Our first priorities will be making sure that planned exhibitions have a home and ensuring that event organisers know Sydney will continue to deliver a world-class event experience during the development period."
Expressions of interest for bookings can be submitted online at www.glebeislandexpo.com. All enquiries should be emailed to bookings@besydney.com.au or call 1300 141 583.  

Glebe Island Expo was announced yesterday by Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Brad Hazzard and Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Hospitality and Racing, George Souris. Infrastructure NSW will soon issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to companies interested in designing, building, operating and then removing the interim facility. Detailed designs have yet to be developed, yet it is aimed Glebe Island Expo will provide:

• Pavilion-style exhibition space of 15,000 square metres in a high quality, air-conditioned, fully serviced interim facility
• An adjacent flat space of 10,000 square metres for exhibitors to temporarily expand the space for larger public exhibitions and trade shows
• A weather-proofed and climate controlled environment
• Flexible space that can create reception areas and meeting rooms
• Close proximity to the CBD and a unique location on Sydney Harbour
• Availability for the entire construction period
• Event-related food and beverage facilities, such as pop-up cafes and restaurants
• Full 'back of house' facilities, such as loading-dock, external storage and waste management facilities. 

For further information: 

Rebecca Mills, Marketing and Communications Manager
Business Events Sydney
rmills@besydney.com.au
Tel: +61 2 9332 5218
Mob: +61 420 960 108