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News
Olympia joins
national effort
DRPG releases
White Paper
Creative communications group
DRPG has launched its latest
White Paper, which explores
how ready broadcast is to
support communications
between professionals during
the Covid-19 crisis.
Researched and written by
DRPG’s head of insight and
innovation, Callum Gill, the
White Paper aims to
demonstrate that “any
apprehension around broadcast
as a medium is misplaced” and
will address the immediate
need to use broadcast as an
alternative to live interactions.
New name for Arena
Birmingham
Arena Birmingham has
announced its rebrand to Utilita
Arena Birmingham.
The venue said the rebrand
reflects a multi-year partnership
with smart pay-as-you-go energy
provider, Utilita. The partnership
was announced in January.
Utilita Arena Birmingham
signals the firm’s growing
presence in the UK live events
industry, with the energy
supplier already partnering with
several music festivals in
addition to Utilita Arena
Newcastle.
Olympia London’s National Hall
has been converted into a large
food storage, production and
distribution facility to support
vulnerable and isolated residents
reliant on donations.
The new Hammersmith and
Fulham Foodbank service will now
be delivering over 1,000 parcels
each week, increasing the
organisation’s capacity by 400%.
The new operation is being
staffed by an army of volunteers
from Hammersmith and Fulham
Council as well as volunteers
from the surrounding community.
The venue has given the
council use of the National Hall
rent free for the duration of the
Covid-19 crisis.
12,500 join Global Meetings
Industry Day
GMID Goes Virtual rallied 12,500 professionals from over 30
countries, 14 April, to commemorate Global Meetings Industry
Day (GMID) and spread hope and positivity in an events industry
that is highly affected by Covid-19.
The virtual meet-up was also an attempt to create the largest
audience for a live-stream conference.
GMID is an initiative designed by the Meetings Mean Business
(MMB) campaign to be an international forum for advocacy,
awareness, and celebration for the meetings and events
industry.
The idea to attempt the record came from Calgary-based Anh
Nguyen, principal and founder of Spark Event Management. She
wanted to provide a platform to share a message of resilience
with industry peers and some long hours were spent
consolidating this project to show that the events community
stands together, even when apart.
Using the audience interaction tool Slido, attendees engaged
in polls that reflected the status of events. GMID Goes Virtual
became the most interactive event in Slido’s history with over
8,800 people participating and 46,790 votes submitted.
Hotel welcomes
key workers
Medical and clinical staff battling
Covid-19 in Edinburgh have
booked 1,000 nights of free
rooms and meals at Ten Hill
Place, the city’s largest
independent hotel.
The 129-room hotel, owned by
The Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh, opened its doors to
the city’s hospital staff on 27
March and has since
accommodated more than 200
key workers, with bookings
increasing daily.
New Brum venue sees association value
The Eastside Rooms has announced
it will be the latest member of the
Association of British Professional
Conference Organisers (ABPCO).
The announcement follows its launch
of Future Birmingham, a new website
which allows event organisers to see
the infrastructure developments taking
www.conference-news.co.uk
place in the area from now until 2030.
The venue, which opens in October
2020, is also looking to partner with
other trade bodies and events, both in
the UK and internationally.
It comes at a time when the value of
trade associations has been
highlighted.