City report
Living Lab producing
new conference chemistry
RAMY SALAMEH REPORTS ON HOW ROTTERDAM IS HARNESSING
ITS PORT CITY ZEST TO REINVENT ITS EVENTS PROPOSITION
otterdam is home to the
world’s first floating farm,
with 40 cows, a farmer and
robots soon to be collecting
manure and feeding cattle; while the
city’s innovation district garners and
aligns start-ups, incubators and
accelerators with institutions and
businesses. All of this activity swirls
around Europe’s largest (and smartest)
port, which is working towards
becoming the first C02 neutral port in
the world, part of the authorities’ ‘energy
transition’ strategy set for 2030.
Rotterdam sees itself as a Living Lab
and a focal point of urban innovation and
sustainability. It is a city that encourages
experimental projects spanning
everything from the ‘circular economy’
to ‘Resilience’ and is one of the
Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient
Cities.
Rotterdam’s youthful vibe and zest is
also evident in the cutting-edge
architectural landmarks that dominate
the skyline.
The city’s arts and culture scene saw it
host the 20th edition of ‘Art Rotterdam
Week’ recently, part of a year-round
programme of festivals and events.
It is no surprise, in this context, that
The Netherland’s second city has been
capturing some big MICE wins and
turning heads away from the capital,
Amsterdam.
Meeting planners are clearly seeing
something new, raw and relevant when
considering the city. “Rotterdam being a
‘smart city’ is an incentive, but as The
Netherlands prides itself on green
initiatives and other cities such as
Amsterdam and Copenhagen are also
well known for their sustainable
practices, this in itself is not enough. The
differentiator with Rotterdam is its drive
for sustainability, combined with its
unique architecture and urban vibe, and
lower costs compared to more popular
destinations,” says Paul Stoddart,
Managing Director, CWT Meetings &
Events, UK, Ireland & Benelux.
What has limited Rotterdam before, in
terms of capacity to host the
mega-events, is now being addressed
with new venue developments.
Rotterdam Ahoy will add a new
Congress and Convention centre in late
2020 and will feature The Netherlands’
largest auditorium, which, when
combined with the existing halls and
arena, has already launched Rotterdam
into a wider bidding pool for conventions
and tradeshows.
A recent win to come off the back of
Ahoy’s development is the ‘ASME Turbo
Expo Conference 2022’, focusing on
turbines and energy.
Above: Smart view
to an events kill in
Rotterdam’s Living
Lab
Above: CGI of the
planned ‘floating
farm’
Above: Top 10 city,
with millennial and
cultural appeal
ISSUE 99
The 1930’s Van Nelle Factory, the
primary venue for Art Rotterdam Week,
received its UNESCO World Heritage
status in 2014, a rarity for a former
factory complex.
Rogier Swerissen, Teamleader Sales of
Van Nelle events, says: “There can be few
UNESCO World heritage venues
available for MICE events, and even
fewer that organise go-karting or a
special forces drugs sting demo with
helicopters landing in the car park, part
of the International Drug Enforcement
Conference (IDEC) we hosted.”
Catherine Kalamidas, from Rotterdam
Partners CVB, adds: “We see the pursuit
of congresses with a focus on our top
sectors and inter-sectoral concepts and
disciplines as a way to continually
strengthen them, contributing to our
efforts toward a future-proof city.”
This vision can be seen in the way art
is appreciated in Rotterdam, with the
arrival of ‘Bojimans Van Beuningen
Depot’ in early 2021 in the Museumpark.
It will be the world’s first publicly
accessible art storage facility, housing
Museum Bojimans Van Beuningen’s
collection of 151,000 artworks.
In 2016, Rotterdam’s modernist
cultural appeal saw Lonely Planet vote it
a ‘Best in Travel’ top-10 city and, shortly
after, accessibility to the city, was
boosted by the arrival of Eurostar into
Centraal Station. The city was also
chosen to be the European seat of
Boston’s Cambridge Innovation Centre
and the home of the UN Global Centre
of Excellence for Climate Adaptation.
The climate for conferencing in
Rotterdam is certainly looking rather
more clement.
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