Meetings and Events Industry News

The idea of transporting attendees to a metaverse venue may be exciting, but event organizers need to think carefully about how attendees move through virtual reality. A 31 percent spike in virtual reality-related insurance claims shows the risk of accidents is real.

The nature of engagement has changed profoundly. At EventMB's The Future of the Event Industry: 2022 Outlook Summit, event professionals joined us to explore how the industry has metabolized lessons from the pandemic and what that means for events in 2022.

Inclusivity and diversity have become a focal point for events and professionals in the industry. We explore the why and how of creating inclusive spaces for so-called neurodivergent people. 

In this guest post, Martin “DJ Graffiti” Smith shares his thoughts on the dualities of Black History Month, the complexities of speaking from the Black experience, and practical advice for making inclusivity a meaningful part of event design all year round.

In response to the country’s recent Omicron wave, New Zealand recently moved to its "Red Traffic light" setting — halting large-scale gatherings and impacting the local events industry. The decision has received some pushback; we explore why. 

Despite posting a new loss of $16.8 million for the fourth quarter, Eventbrite is showing signs that it’s bouncing back. All in all, its fourth quarter financials for 2021 announced yesterday are noticeably less brutal than in 2020.

Software company twine, a specialized tool for networking, just announced its acquisition of Glimpse, part of the Zoom App Marketplace. This deal marks the launch of twine for Zoom, a tool that combines matchmaking software with Zoom Breakout Rooms.

An event industry survey suggests that neither exhibitor nor attendance numbers will make a full rebound this year, but one area is projected to exceed 2019 numbers: the sales pipeline attributed to events. How can B2B event planners keep up the momentum?

In a normal year, approximately three million people would walk through the doors of Chicago’s McCormick Place, one of the biggest convention centers in the U.S. The past two years, however, have been anything but normal. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a tidal wave of trouble for the world, and convention centers like McCormick Place.

Has attendee behavior changed forever? Do all events need to offer an option to participate remotely? Are employees working remotely more or less attracted to in-person events? These are some of the fascinating questions we will address with industry leaders at the upcoming Future of the Event Industry: 2022 Outlook Summit.