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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MCEC
In 2022-23, the first full year of operation since the pandemic, MCEC exceeded expectations, hosting 694 events, welcoming more than 2.6 million visitors and generating $805 million in economic impact for Victoria. As highlighted in its 2022-23 Annual Report, tabled by Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos, MCEC experienced a faster than expected business recovery. Twenty-one international, 70 national and 124 local meetings, conferences and exhibitions …
November 3, 2023
An exclusively female technology team from Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre produced the Chief Executive Women (CEW) Leadership Summit, which was held at the venue last month. According to the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, women make up only 6% of the global audio visual (AV) industry. The underrepresentation of women in the AV industry highlights the significance of an all-female tech team leading such a prominent event at …
October 20, 2023
The Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre precinct development is a step closer to reality with the selection of the preferred bidder to deliver the much-anticipated project, along with the unveiling today of proposed designs. Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing joined City of Greater Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan to announce Plenary Conventions has been appointed to lead the project and will soon start on what will be one of …
July 25, 2023
AIME has today released new insights into the success of their 30-year anniversary show which took place over three days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in February 2023. A post show analysis has revealed: ● AIME will generate an anticipated $200 million in business between exhibitors and buyers over the next 12 months – a near 70% increase on 2022. ● 90% of exhibitors were satisfied with …
March 29, 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
Let’s face it AIME has had its ups and downs over the previous 30 years (as I reflected in the lead up) so it was great to feel such a positive vibe last week. The buyers from around the world were back and the exhibitor space increased by 40% over the 2019 show. Worst quote of AIME – “Gathering together again is infectious” (OK I won’t name who said …
February 21, 2023
The Hon. John Brumby AO, Chair of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust, has today announced the appointment of Natalie O’Brien AM as Chief Executive of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Natalie O’Brien AM Ms O’Brien joins the business in January 2023 and brings a wealth of leadership experience in the tourism and events industry. She is a former CEO of Food and Wine Victoria, producers of …
October 14, 2022
Remember back to March 2020 – when all venues were shut down and the event industry came to a halt. The initial health advice was that COVID-19 was spread by contaminated surfaces and close contact with droplets. This led to health advice to wear a mask, keep “socially distant” and to wash/disinfect our hands and surfaces. Then as venues gradually reopened they had hand sanitiser available for patrons as they …
June 15, 2022
Recent announcements made by the MCEC and BCEC about changes to senior management opens the door to some interesting changes that will no doubt play out in the coming period. The appointment of Bob O’Keeffe as Chief Operating Officer of ASM Global APAC means that all their Australian venues will now report to him – this includes BCEC, ICC Sydney, Darwin, Cairns and Christchurch Convention Centres. With other recent …
June 15, 2022
MCEC Archives | Australasian Special Events
The ramifications of “COVID cancellations”
Following the announcement from a ‘mainstream organiser’ that an event planned to run in the next month has been cancelled – under the guise of ‘COVID concerns’ – I feel we should all be angry. This decision, based on no actual health requirement not to proceed, completely undermines the fight that many of us have taken on over the past few years. As an industry we have maintained that …