From its warm, sunny weather to its warm, friendly people, Sydney’s many attributes are providing a winning platform for associations planning their international conferences in the harbour city.

Co-Chair of the Organising Committee for the 10^th International Congress on Obesity, Professor Ian Caterson, told a recent seminar on staging conventions how Sydney’s appeal helped his committee win their bid for the 2006 event.

“We relied firstly on Sydney – it’s safety, warmth and welcome – as well as our science, and we creamed it.”

Mr Caterson said the event, held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre last September, was as successful as the bid.

“The Congress was fantastic - it was the best. The science was superb, the venue was magnificent, we had great social events  - and then, there was Sydney. As one delegate said afterwards, ‘we will never be able to do better than Sydney’.”

Professor Caterson’s insight came at the 2007 Reachout Seminar held in Sydney in August and attended by more than 40 association representatives and industry partners.

Hosted annually by the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB), Reachout is designed specifically to support associations planning to bid for or hold an international meeting.

This year’s event provided three detailed case studies of recent events and event wins, as well as tips from leading professional conference organisers and valuable advice from representatives of the Centre, the SCVB and the NSW Government.

The three case study presenters - Professor Caterson along with the World Congress on Pediatric Critical Care 2011 bid committee member, Dr David Schell and the Chair of the 13^th International Heat Transfer Conference 2006, Professor Graham de Vahl Davis - spoke in detail on their bids as well as how they boosted delegate numbers and managed areas such as sponsorship and publicity.

All three also told how Sydney’s prime Asia Pacific positioning had helped to win their bids and boost delegate numbers, with strong attendance from other nations in the region

Speaking after the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Audiological Society of Australia Monica Persson described Reachout as a “sensational” experience, which had motivated her in her organisation’s bid for the 2014 International Congress of Audiology.

“I went into Reachout thinking we might bid for the Congress and I came out thinking we will bid.

“The evidence of the support that the Centre and the SCVB give was just wonderful, as were the conference case studies – it really got my mind going and gave me the ability to visualise our bid.”

Ms Persson said Reachout had also made her realise the many selling points that Sydney offered and how these should be emphasised in a bid.

“My ultimate aim is to blow our competition out of the water with our bid  - we want other cities to think why they should bother bidding if they’re fighting Sydney.”

For information on next year’s Reachout seminar, contact Annabel Davis, Director of Sales – International on 02 9282 5033.

SCEC CEO Ton van Amerongen;
13th International Heat Transfer Conference 2006 Chair, Professor Graham de Vahl Davis; 
World Congress on Pediatric Critical Care 2011 bid committee member, Dr David Schell; 
Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau General Manager Marketing Lyn Lewis-Smith
and 10th International Congress on Obesity Organising Committee Co-Chair, Professor Ian Caterson.