Megaron is right in the centre of the city, surrounded by
major hospitals and hotels, and with a metro next to it
City focus
Optimal time for Megaron, as Athens
meetings demand transforms
thens has been thriving in
recent years and the
outlook for conferencing
looks set fair to continue.
CMW spoke with Clare Amsel,
Executive Consultant Conferences at
Megaron Athens International
Conference Centre, who confirms
increasing demand for the city and its
venues from both international and
national conferences.
In 2018 Megaron hosted – to name
but a few prestigious international
conferences - the 52nd Annual
Meeting of the Association for
European Pediatric and Congenital
Cardiology (AEPC) in May with over
1,000 delegates, the 17th World
Congress in Fetal Medicine in June,
with 1,800 delegates, the 18th
European Conference on Composite
Materials (ECCM) also in June with
1,000 delegates, and the 36th IBBY
International Congress in August /
September with 500 delegates, which
worked nicely with Athens being
designated as the UNESCO World
Book Capital 2018.
Last September the city welcomed
the Annual Symposium of the Society
for the Study of Inborn Errors of
Metabolism (SSIEM), with 2,600
delegates, as well as the 57th Annual
Meeting of the European Society for
Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), and
its 3,700 delegates. October followed
with the IEEE International
Conference on Image Processing
(ICIP), with 1,150 delegates, and the
EUSOBI Annual Scientific Meeting
with 800 delegates in attendance.
“Prestigious meetings we’ll be
hosting next year include the imminent
23rd Winter Meeting of the European
Society of Cataract and Refractive
Surgeons (ESCRS),” says Amsel, who
adds that Megaron has hosted ESCRS
twice before.
Maria Crowley, Director of ESCRS
Congresses and Exhibitions, adds: “We
are expecting 2,000 delegates and the
Board decided to return to Athens
because of the close collaboration with
the Hellenic Society of Intraocular
Implant and Refractive Surgery, and
because the location makes it easy for
delegates from surrounding countries
to attend. Delegates enjoy what Athens
has to offer and also like returning to a
familiar venue - the Megaron.”
In May, Megaron hosts Heart
Failure 2019 (European Society of
Cardiology - Escardio) with 4,500-plus
delegates expected. The European
Society of Cardiology - ESC -
represents more than 95,000
professionals in the field of cardiology
from Europe, the Mediterranean basin
and beyond and has returned to
Megaron regularly.
Megaron has always been popular
for Association meetings and especially
for Medical, Life Science and
Healthcare. International Information
Technology and Financial Conferences
have also seen an increase at Megaron,
Amsel notes. “The venue’s position in
the centre of the city, surrounded by
the major hospitals and having many
hotels and museums within walking
distance or minutes by metro, which is
right next to the Centre, is a strong
asset,” she adds.
The metro also connects on a direct
line to the international airport
Eleftherios Venizelos.
Amsel adds: “Business tourism
marketing and destination marketing
has changed significantly over the last
decade and is on the cusp of another
big evolution where new technologies
and concepts, such as big data,
marketing automation and A.I. are
becoming a reality and the application
of marketing science to
consumer-centric results-driven
programmes is becoming a must in
order to remain relevant.
“Megaron will have close-on double
the number of conferences hosted
between 2017 and the expected picture
for 2019.”
Top:
Megaron provides
plenty of room for
delegates to express
themselves
Clare Amsel is Executive Consultant on
Conferences at Megaron and was elected to
the Board of Directors of ICCA as
Co-Chair of the Venues Sector at the ICCA
annual conference in November 2018 in
Dubai. She was a member of the Board of
Directors of AIPC for four years and also
held a leadership position on both the
Athens and London Olympic Games
Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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