Preview
IBTM World 2019
REED’S ANNUAL BARCELONA BASH HAS MANY NEW CONCEPTS
IN STORE FOR ITS 2019 EDITION
BTM World has announced
that John Volanthen, the
British cave diver who
played a major role in the
astonishing 2018 Tham Luang Thailand
cave rescue of the youth football team, will
be the first keynote speaker at IBTM
World 2019. This year’s edition of Reed’s
annual meetings industry event takes place
at Fira Barcelona 19-21 November.
Volanthen’s session is part of the
Knowledge Programme and will cover
managing risk and keeping calm in a crisis.
He will also explain how great feats are
rarely due to luck, but rather perseverance
and preparation.
The cave rescue in Thailand in 2018 was
one of the most complex and dangerous
rescues the world has seen. It involved
navigating 4km through flooded
passageways, some of which were too
narrow to wear scuba tanks.
David Thompson, Event Director,
IBTM World, says: “Not only is [John’s]
story inspiring and uplifting, but his
experience can be related to so many
different situations and we can apply his
lessons in keeping calm, and preparing
well, to our everyday lives.”
includes four sessions addressing some of
the key challenges facing senior corporate
event organisers. It finishes with an
exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of
Barcelona and an exciting social dining
experience.
Senior event planners from a FTSE 500
or equivalent company can apply to be on
the programme by registering their
interest to be a Hosted Buyer.
sustainability for events and cost control.
The programme includes case studies,
speeches and panel sessions from some of
the leading organisations in the association
sector.
Speakers include Senthil Gopinath, CEO
of ICCA, who will lead a session on
‘preserving the world through sustainable
meetings’; Gordon Glenister, Global Head
of Influencer Marketing, The Branded
Content Marketing Association. He will
cover how influencer marketing can help
build delegate awareness and uptake of
your event; and Greg Tracz, CEO,
Diabetes Africa, will run a session on
‘developing the sponsorship revenue
stream for long-term benefit’.
Association Programme
IBTM World’s 2019 Association
Programme, which takes place on the
afternoon of 19 November, has been created
in partnership with the Association of
Association Executives (AAE) and includes
eight topical sessions addressing some of
the key challenges facing association event
organisers. The afternoon concludes with
Associations Connect, a peer-to-peer
networking event, in association with
ICCA.
Themes for the afternoon include;
driving delegate attendance, raising
sponsor and exhibitor revenue,
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
Elite Corporate Programme
New for 2019 is the Elite Corporate
Programme, which takes place on 20
November. Created in association with
American Express Meeting & Events, a
division of American Express Global
Business Travel, supported by the Event
Marketing Association and sponsored by
London & Partners, the programme
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ISSUE 103
IBTM
World
takes place,
19-21
November,
at Gran
Fira
Barcelona.
Above:
VR is set to be
a big focus
at this year’s
show
Business investment and mentorship
programme
Also new for 2019 is the Event Business
Accelerator, an investment and mentoring
programme for young entrepreneurs. The
programme will give people with an idea,
product or service relevant to the events
industry the opportunity to participate in
an intensive mentoring programme,
culminating in a live pitch for funding to a
panel of potential investors.
IBTM Accelerate will feature several
interactive discussions for the next
generation of event planners; an
‘Influencers of MICE’ series led by ex-MPI
President and Founder of Word of MICE
Mariska Kesteloo; Future Focus – a series
of sessions focusing on the future of the
MICE industry, curated by Alistair Turner,
and the hotly anticipated IBTM World
Tech Watch Awards which will be
presented in the zone.