A business conference can contribute significant value to the company hosting it. When done properly a conference can facilitate dialog between the attendees, inspire brainstorming sessions to come up with new and innovative ideas and develop relationship that will last beyond just the conference. Of course, a lot depends on how the conference is planned and where it is hosted. The organizers of the conference have to planned well in advance and ensure all aspects of the event hosting have been thought about and taken care of before the conference. It also helps to build a rapport with the staff and management of the venue and to fine tune all local resources from taxi services to currency banking.
There are many fine establishments to choose from, but some carry an exclusive seal of quality – they’ve hosted a top level leaders’ summit. If it’s good enough for the world’s most powerful people then it should be good enough for you. At these venues the knowledge of who has graced the conference rooms before will wow many of your delegates.
The regions of the UK are no stranger to high profile summits. In 1998, when security concerns surrounding terrorism and protestors were not so serious, one of the country’s biggest cities hosted the likes of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac for the G8 Summit. Birmingham’s ICC (International Conference Centre) was the venue and today it remains a first class conference facility with the key benefit of being centrally located and easily accessible.
The aforementioned security concerns of the earliest 21st Century have however seen a shift towards more remote locations for global summits, in an effort to make things harder for would be troublemakers. Britain’s subsequent G8 hosting stints for example have been held among the scenic settings of the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland and the Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland. More recently Barack Obama and others descended on Wales’ Celtic Manor Resort near Newport.
Overseas, hosts of such summits have included the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Sea Island resort in Georgia, USA. If you want to think outside of the box and beyond hotels and conference centres, part of Lyon’s Museum of Contemporary Art – host of the 1996 G7 Summit – can be booked for events and conferences. The same applies to Munich’s Residenz palace, where Chancellor Helmut Kohl welcomed his peers in 1992.
Summits of world leaders are among the most precisely organised events on the planet – often with years of preparation put into them. Make sure you are prepared for a real opportunity to make you and your organisation shine. Research your venue, make sure everything is arranged down to the finest detail. Eyes and ears on the ground can help, as can a currency account for events held on foreign soil – ideal for making any last minute transactions go smoothly.
