Sydney is gearing up to host 51 association conferences and incentives secured by Business Events Sydney (BESydney) in the next seven months, which are expected to attract more than 47,000 of the world’s brightest minds to Australia’s leading business events destination.
Headlining this list of prestigious business events is the 105th Rotary International Convention that will take place at the iconic Sydney Olympic Park from 1–4 June. With less than a month to go, almost 18,000 delegates have registered for the event and an influx of local Rotarians are expected to sign up in the final weeks.
Other events to take place in Sydney in 2014 include the Pro-Health China Annual Conference for 4,500 delegates with an economic impact (EI) of $22.5 million and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Parks Congress for 3,000 delegates, with an EI of $24 million.
The Rotary Convention will inject an estimated $60.5 million into the local economy during the four official days, making it one of the largest and most significant business events ever organised in Australia. Some 148 countries will be represented at the event with large contingencies from Taiwan, the US, Japan, Korea and Australia.
The four-day Convention includes an exclusive sold-out performance at the Sydney Opera House and an Australia Football League match between the Sydney Swans and Geelong (tickets are still available!), which will be played during the Indigenous round of the AFL draw. Rotarians will also attempt a double world record to display the most flags on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and have the most people on the BridgeClimb experience at the same time.
Key to the Convention’s event program is Vivid Sydney, named Australia’s Best Tourism Event and the Australian Event of the Year in 2013, which makes a spectacular return to Sydney from 23 May to 9 June 2014. The Southern Hemisphere’s largest festival of light, music and ideas is expected to attract record audiences exceeding 800,000 people.
During the Rotary Convention, the Rotary E-Club of Greater Sydney will play host to a ‘Vivid Visions’ cruise on Sydney Harbour that will be illuminated for the festival. Rotarian delegates will set sail on authentic 1920s twin sister Tall Ships for a spectacular evening of light and sound.
“Last year, six international events secured by BESydney were held alongside Vivid Sydney. We encourage conference and incentive planners to align their programs with Sydney’s stunning array of annual festivals and high-profile sporting events,” said BESydney’s CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith.
“Sydney’s major event calendar is full of brilliant opportunities to suit all tastes and event themes. Some shining examples of these are the Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi Beach; Good Food Month; and the largest lunar New Year celebration outside of Asia.”
The largest ever Vivid Ideas line-up of creative leaders and emerging talent, across a program of more than 200 events spanning 14 creative industries, has been launched for the 2014 Vivid Sydney. Vivid Ideas keynote speakers include renowned scholar, historian and founder of the Big History David Christian; CEO and co-founder of EpiBone, the world’s first company growing living human bones for skeletal reconstruction, Nina Tandon; digital effects genius Hao Li; and guest speakers from Tomorrow’s Toys and Future Shock.
Also tied into Vivid Sydney are business events including SPARC Design, the Good Design Australia Awards and Mumbrella360.
Later in September, the Pro-Health China Annual Conference will see approximately 4,500 high achievers visit Sydney. This is the first time that Pro-Health has taken its prestigious event outside of Asia and Australia’s harbour city is honoured to have this opportunity. Sydney’s ability to motivate, rewards and inspire delegates translates into tangible outcomes for Asian companies.
“Last year one of our clients shared with us that after announcing Sydney as their event destination they saw a 20 per cent increase in sales and a similar increase in qualifying team members for the incentive. Our once-in-a lifetime experiences continue to drive and inspire teams to succeed,” said Lyn Lewis-Smith.
