Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.
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Weekly wrap
Following the disruption of 2020 – 2021 (which is still being felt in 2022) is the Australian event industry back on track? The formation of the Australian Business Events Association without MEA and the PCOA feels like a lost opportunity. Would a broader association that embraced the entire event industry be more successful, or even possible given the fractious nature of the industry associations? The MEA Evolve conference felt …
June 19, 2023
Welcome to this week’s update MEA Awards program The MEA awards program appears to be struggling to make a comeback after COVID. NSW is always the strongest state in the MEA awards program but this week’s presentation saw an underwhelming list of winners with many of the 37 award categories not contested. I’ve heard that the Victorian awards was similarly underrepresented. Let’s hope the membership bounces back to support …
May 19, 2023
I love arts festivals and I love Adelaide (I was born there) so it is fantastic to see another successful Mad March with Womadelaide, Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe rocking the city. Mad March a multi-million-dollar moneymaker and Sheeran has hotels cheerin’ – SA Tourism New South Australian Tourism Commission statistics show that just over the three days of the March long weekend, an estimated $128 million has been …
March 27, 2023
What a weekend! – Sydney is alive again thanks to World Pride. And on Saturday night it was great to be back on the sidelines covering the Mardi Gras parade (more on that next week). Heading back to Central after the parade it was great to come across impromptu street parties. But it is not only my home city that has come back to life – Melbourne was bubbling …
February 27, 2023
Today I’m packing to head to Melbourne for AIME. I always try to get down on the Saturday to take in Melbourne offerings (my favourite was White Night). Tomorrow I’m off to the NGV for the Alexander McQueen exhibition. Then on Sunday the heat is on with media commitments up to and through the two days of the expo. And apparently I’m not the only one looking forward to …
February 10, 2023
First up… Congratulations to two event industry figures named in the Australia Day honours list Anthony BASTIC AM – For significant service to the special events industry and Gregory Kenneth BOWMAN OAM – For service to the tourism and hospitality industry. A united voice for Business Events? At the height of COVID lockdowns the entire event industry (not just business events) struggled to get a voice to government. One of …
February 3, 2023
And so 2022 draws to a close. At the beginning of this year the event industry was still looking at an uncertain future. Although going back into lockdown was unlikely it could not be ruled out. The big question was – would business confidence return, and with it, events? Anecdotally, that confidence, and events, did return – but with shortened time frames. The short booking times were then compounded …
December 23, 2022
I made a brief visit to Sydney CBD last weekend and felt quite a buzz. Following lockdowns and wet weather it great to see so many people around again. Going behind the scenes of events We know what goes on behind the scenes of our events but how much do our guests know about what needs to be done to pull a successful event together. The ABC spent a …
November 4, 2022
Event industry coming to terms with snap public holiday. The snap public holiday to mark the “National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty The Queen” – yes that is what the holiday is officially known as – is having a severe impact on the event industry. Events planned for next Thursday will now incur unbudgeted costs for staff penalty rates. ASE ran a quick check with some venues and …
September 16, 2022
Weekly wrap Archives | Australasian Special Events
November wrap
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done an update and for good reason. Like the rest of the event industry my photography business is currently flat out. So here is my wrap for November so far and I’ll wrap again before Christmas. Last month our industry lost a true gentleman when Mark Magennis lost his battle with cancer. As co-owner of Decorative Events & Exhibitions, Mark was a …