The Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel team won the Aimbridge Hospitality's ‘Whale of a Win’ Award 2024 – a 4ft soft cuddly whale named Amy, which honours “AMY-zing results”.
The recognition followed the announcement that the hotel's meeting and booking revenue has grown by 55% in the year to April, following a £3million refurbishment project of 280 bedrooms and reception area, plus a major investment in people.
This focus on employees featured an extensive recruitment drive to hire 53 conference, events, and hotel staff locally. The appointment of two leadership positions has been key to the business making significant strides in its commitment to excellence in events, hospitality, and service. Stephen Cox has been appointed Conference & Events Operations Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Within a few months, Stephen has already overhauled the hotel’s conference and events offering for organisers and delegates, and VenueVerdict scores are now consistently achieving 9/10.
Dhiraj Kumar has also been hired as Head Chef. With more than two decades of experience working with major hotel brands, Dhiraj brings a wealth of culinary knowledge and creativity.
Aziza Yessi, Sales Director, Mercure Manchester Piccadilly, commented: “Our teams have achieved a phenomenal uplift in the M&E segment, fuelled by a standout performance in February. Our events and hotel teams have shown exceptional foresight, strategic planning, tenacity, and commitment to client satisfaction and retention. We are delighted to have our hard work and achievements recognised with this fun Aimbridge Award for April.”
This is the second Aimbridge award for Mercure Manchester Piccadilly this year. In January, the business won the Aimbridge Hospitality Award for the most improved Accor hotel in EMEA, with a 12.7% increase in performance and guest reputation.
The Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel team won the Aimbridge Hospitality's ‘Whale of a Win’ Award 2024 – a 4ft soft cuddly whale named Amy, which honours “AMY-zing results”. The recognition followed the announcement that the hotel's meeting and booking revenue has grown by 55% in the year to April, following a £3million refurbishment project of 280 bedrooms and reception area, plus a major investment in people. This focus on employees featured an extensive recruitment drive to hire 53 conference, events, and hotel staff locally. The appointment of two leadership positions has been key to the business making significant strides in its commitment to excellence in events, hospitality, and service. Stephen Cox has been appointed Conference & Events Operations Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Within a few months, Stephen has already overhauled the hotel’s conference and events offering for organisers and delegates, and VenueVerdict scores are now consistently achieving 9/10. Dhiraj Kumar has also been hired as Head Chef. With more than two decades of experience working with major hotel brands, Dhiraj brings a wealth of culinary knowledge and creativity. Aziza Yessi, Sales Director, Mercure Manchester Piccadilly, commented: “Our teams have achieved a phenomenal uplift in the M&E segment, fuelled by a standout performance in February. Our events and hotel teams have shown exceptional foresight, strategic planning, tenacity, and commitment to client satisfaction and retention. We are delighted to have our hard work and achievements recognised with this fun Aimbridge Award for April.” This is the second Aimbridge award for Mercure Manchester Piccadilly this year. In January, the business won the Aimbridge Hospitality Award for the most improved Accor hotel in EMEA, with a 12.7% increase in performance and guest reputation.
The Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel team won the Aimbridge Hospitality's ‘Whale of a Win’ Award 2024 – a 4ft soft cuddly whale named Amy, which honours “AMY-zing results”. The recognition followed the announcement that the hotel's meeting and booking revenue has grown by 55% in the year to April, following a £3million refurbishment project of 280 bedrooms and reception area, plus a major investment in people. This focus on employees featured an extensive recruitment drive to hire 53 conference, events, and hotel staff locally. The appointment of two leadership positions has been key to the business making significant strides in its commitment to excellence in events, hospitality, and service. Stephen Cox has been appointed Conference & Events Operations Manager, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Within a few months, Stephen has already overhauled the hotel’s conference and events offering for organisers and delegates, and VenueVerdict scores are now consistently achieving 9/10. Dhiraj Kumar has also been hired as Head Chef. With more than two decades of experience working with major hotel brands, Dhiraj brings a wealth of culinary knowledge and creativity. Aziza Yessi, Sales Director, Mercure Manchester Piccadilly, commented: “Our teams have achieved a phenomenal uplift in the M&E segment, fuelled by a standout performance in February. Our events and hotel teams have shown exceptional foresight, strategic planning, tenacity, and commitment to client satisfaction and retention. We are delighted to have our hard work and achievements recognised with this fun Aimbridge Award for April.” This is the second Aimbridge award for Mercure Manchester Piccadilly this year. In January, the business won the Aimbridge Hospitality Award for the most improved Accor hotel in EMEA, with a 12.7% increase in performance and guest reputation.
CHS Birmingham has announced a new raft of exhibiting companies that will add even more to its visitor’s experience when the show opens its doors at the ICC Birmingham, 29th October 24.
The exhibition will once again provide a mix of domestic and international venues, destinations, unique venues, and support services that will allow event planners to build their events during one day at the show. As well as continuing support from the event’s founding and strategic brand partners, ICC Birmingham and the Birmingham & West Midlands Convention Bureau respectively, the CHS Birmingham is also delighted to be welcoming Visit Scotland, Manchester Convention Bureau, Meet Bath & Bristol, Meet Devon South West England, and Meet Blackpool.
As well as the stellar domestic options, visitors will also be able to meet international representatives from VisitMalta Incentives & Meetings, Minor Hotels/Hosmark Hotels, and Maritim Hotels Germany. Adding to the luxury, high premium end of the market, CHS Birmingham will also welcome Shangri-la The Shard London, Iconic Luxury Hotels and The Langham London.
London is well represented with exhibitors including the Royal Garden Hotel London, the Barbican, Clermont Hotel Group, Imperial London Hotels and The Mermaid London. Equally, across the UK, there are further hotel options including The Alexander Hotel Collection, Elite Hotels, Tudor Hotels Collection, Countrywide Hotels, BWH Hotels Great Britain, The Belfry and Hyatt Hotels, also represented at the show.
These will all be supplemented by a series of partnerships within the exhibition that will see production specialists, venues, and event support partners available to organisers, including, Reftech, Lighthouse Events, UTAC Millbrook, Avanti West Coast, Eventologists, Leopold Marketing, and Concept Furniture.
“We’re so proud of our exhibitors, not just of their quality but their approach to the show this year,” comments Lou Hindley, Commercial Director, CHS Birmingham. “They’re there to do business, offering interesting solutions for our buyer’s events and providing up to date and relevant information that means every meeting will have the maximum value for both buyer and exhibitor. It’s going to be an enterprising show.”
CHS Birmingham will also welcome a series of specialist brands this year, including stands from ODEON, ASM Global, Showcase Cinemas, Academic Venue Solutions, UTAC Millbrook, TOCA Social, Clays, BOOM BATTLE BAR and Escape Hunt.
Earlier this month the show announced IET Birmingham: Austin Court as the show’s Welcome Reception Partner, a major part of the CHS Birmingham experience as Hosted Buyers and Exhibitors begin to network and build business relationships the evening before the event.
Red Bull Technology Group is set to unveil the latest in a string of investments in MK-7, its Milton Keynes conference and event facilities. The new state-of-the-art 46.25 metre LED screen can be found in MK’7’s main auditorium and provides the perfect backdrop to its fleet of F1 cars, which frame the space and date back to 2005.
To complement the 1,004 m² event space, which regularly hosts dynamic events, it was time to upgrade the static banners that stood alongside previous Oracle Red Bull Racing cars. As a longstanding team supplier of Oracle Red Bull Racing, PPDS specified a custom-built U-shaped dvLED video wall featuring Philips 7000 series dvLED screens, perfectly tailored for MK-7.
The screen is believed to be the biggest indoor dvLED wall in Europe and offers organisers a new medium through which they can brand the space and share content.
The complex installation was completed in just four weeks—an ambitious timeline that was scheduled in line with the venue's busy event diary. Using a combination of standard Vogel’s video wall components, custom-made parts, and pre-installation training, integrator Ruitech, supported by Vogel’s on-site engineering team, delivered the project on time and to the highest standard.
The installation consists of 517 Philips Public LED 7000 Series cabinets and 2,035 tiles, achieving a stunning total resolution of 19,240 x 1,144 for an unmatched viewing experience.
The immersive MK-7 venue invites visitors to explore the rich history of Oracle Red Bull Racing memorabilia, and the team’s championship-winning cars. With the installation of this state-of-the-art video wall, the space now offers an unparalleled visual experience.
The Team’s Director of Events and Hospitality, Nick Kenton, commented: “This latest investment in our facilities provides guests with even more opportunities to be creative with their event content. We are continuing evolving our offering and want clients to make the space their own while also embracing the rich and exciting heritage of Red Bull Racing. The new large scale immersive screen is just part of our ongoing plans to enhance our guest experience and provide a premium setting for live events.”
Across the site, Red Bull Technology Group is able to cater for a variety of conferences and events. Named in tribute to its Buckinghamshire home, MK-7 offers a unique setting for brand activations, receptions, dinners, conferences and intimate meetings, and the ongoing upgrades signal the Team’s increasing commitment to the conference and events sector.
Glasgow and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) are reporting the continued increase in delegate numbers across major European conferences. This growth is underlined by the recent success of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), which attracted over 7,000 participants. The delegation is the largest ESTRO congress held to date and underlines a growing trend of major congresses expanding in the city.
ESTRO followed the staging of the 50th Annual Meeting of the EBMT (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation), which attracted a further 4,700 in-person registered participants, and the European Conference on Cystic Fibrosis, which also saw 2,200 researchers, scientists, and medical professionals meet at the SEC.
The SEC and Glasgow will be welcoming the annual conferences of EAACI (European Association of Allergy & Clinical Immunology), which will take place June 2025, and ERA (European Renal Association), in June 2026, with the conferences expected to attract over 8,000 and 9,000 delegates to the city respectively.
The news follows the announcement earlier this year, that the AC Forum will be holding its Annual Meeting in January 2025. To date, over 50% of AC Forum members have hosted or are hosting their meeting at the SEC, again underlining the city’s natural affinity with members of the organisation and its ability to work with European congress organisers.
“There has been tremendous leadership from our ambassadors and the scientific community within Glasgow to attract and grow these exceptional meetings,” commented Kathleen Warden, Director of Conference Sales, SEC. “We are delighted that events prosper in our city”.
“Glasgow Convention Bureau is delighted to partner with the SEC to support these prestigious European Association meetings to deliver successful and memorable events in our city. We look forward to welcoming the AC Forum Annual Meeting delegates to kick off next year,” commented Aileen Crawford, Head of Tourism and Conventions, Glasgow Convention Bureau. ”We are incredibly proud of our ‘Team Glasgow’ approach, where hosting events such as these are recognised as incredibly significant and important to the city’s conference community.”
The Live Group has announced a new vision into 2025 which will see the businesses continued expansion, both domestically and internationally, the growth of its team, and new investment in audience engagement and event technology. The news follows the group’s announcement of an injection of VCT funding from leading private equity group Foresight Group.
The investment from the Foresight Group earlier this year has been specifically earmarked for research and development within the Live Group’s already well-respected digital event products. The business is already investing in the latest technologies with a view to accelerating a suite of products that increase audience understanding and engagement.
“Anyone that knows Live Group has seen how much our business has grown and transformed in just a few years, however we know our heritage sits at the sweet spot between production excellence, smart technology, and market leading audience insight,” commented Stephen D. Pickett, Managing Director, Live Group. “Technology advancement gives us an opportunity to accelerate our audience-led learning, and this can only be good for the events we produce.”
In addition to the developments in event technology, Live Group continue to expand and actively seek the best talent, both in the UK and its Singapore office, which successfully launched last year. The group envisions leading the industry in creating inclusive and accessible event environments, which has helped shape its culture as an innovative, diverse, and equitable workplace. This vision is already attracting talent from diverse backgrounds, both within and outside the traditional events industry, to join its business on its exciting journey.
At the same time, the group has continued to put quality at the heart of its business, recently achieving ISO accreditation in Event Sustainability20121: 2012, in addition to their Quality Management, Information Security and Cyber Essentials Plus credentials. This substantial achievement has already led to positive growth across the Live Group, both within the businesses existing client portfolio, and in the form of new clients to its already healthy roster.
“The credibility of our growth has always been as important as its speed,” continues Stephen. “The event technology and audience profiling technologies we have produced are highly effective and have taken years to perfect. We’ve some really exciting plans in the offering that have undergone the scrutiny we needed them to. They’re nearly ready, and we can’t wait to share them with our clients.”
“This is about having the best people, the right products and an exceptional workplace, for Live Group to solidify its position as a leading international event brands, and one that is growing responsibly, sustainably, and with equity and innovation at its core,” concluded Stephen.