Reed Exhibitions’ new upcoming online event, IBTM Wired, will see four event professionals discuss what they think the next few years has in store for the industry.
Taking place, 28 June-1 July, IBTM Wired will cover issues including hybrid, and personalisation, with each day focused on a specific region.
Day one will focus on the Asia Pacific region, while day two will move on to the Americas. Day three is focused on Africa and the Middle East, and day four on Europe.
The speakers at the event are Anna Abdelnoor, co-founder of isla; Tim Sutter, regional business development director at Cvent; James Morgan, founder of Event Tech Lab, and Cathy Breden, EVP/COO at International Association of Exhibitions and Events.
Abdelnoor said: “The future of the events industry has to be a sustainable one. This means prioritising the planet and realising the environmental and social impacts of our events.”
Sutter said: “The hybrid event phenomenon that is flourishing across businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes is providing a whole new experience for meeting and event attendees, giving them more choice and making events more accessible than ever before.”
Morgan, who is also principal lecturer in Live Design and Technology at the University of Westminster, said: “What we are going to see in the next few years is a recalibration of the supply structure for the events industry – at the local, national and international level. With the economic recovery from the pandemic limiting some event planners’ budgets, the fast forwarding – through necessity – of common usage of online platforms, as well as corporate sustainability goals, means the supply side is already changing.”
Breden, who is also CEO at the Center for Exhibition Industry Research Foundation, said: “Our research shows a lot of pent-up demand for getting back to face-to-face. And, while we know that digital was great in the short-term, both exhibitors and attendees/visitors have indicated they prefer face-to-face. Digital will always have a place in events; however, the extent of use will depend on industry sector and audience.”