If there is one industry business event you need to attend in 2024, it’s the BestCities Global Forum. And it’s not just because you get to visit Melbourne (although that is a great bonus to be sure).

Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) CEO Julia Swanson recently spoke at the BestCities Global Alliance Breakfast during IMEX Frankfurt, revealing insights into the must-do BestCities Global Forum coming to Melbourne 18 – 21 January 2024.

What is the BestCities Global Alliance?

The BestCities Alliance is a dynamic network of 12 leading cities at the forefront of business events. MCB are a founding partner of the alliance. The alliance includes Melbourne, Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Houston, Madrid, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver and Guadalajara.

What is the BestCities Global Forum?

The Global Forum is the key annual activity for BestCities. It allows clients and partner cities to engage in meaningful and stimulating dialogue. The aim is to encourage international associations and alliance cities to work collaboratively, to ensure secured meetings are a success and achieve strategic outcomes for the city and the association.

By creating the most impactful events, and providing a positive influence on businesses and communities, BestCities Alliance and clients aim to leave a legacy that lasts.

Who is the BestCities Global Forum for?

The BestCities Global Forum is open to International Associations, Association Management Companies, Corporate Meeting Planners, (Core) PCOs and invited guests whose events fit the following criteria:

• You organise events over 500 participants in size;
• Your events are held on a regular basis and must rotate globally;
• You are a decision maker or main influencer on the choice of destination for your events;
• You have a genuine interest in at least three BestCities destinations as a potential future host city for your events

What to expect on the program?

The program is still being curated for January 2024, however the theme has been confirmed.

‘Meeting the Challenge: Creating Connections with Purpose’ will explore how in-person meetings are critical to cultivating meaningful connections and purpose for meeting planners, associations and delegates.

How is the alliance shaping this theme to ensure the content is relevant, with tangible takeaways that association executives can implement into their business straight away?

The BestCities Alliance are currently holding meetings with key industry contacts to really understand current challenges, and how together, association executives and convention bureaus can tackle them collectively to achieve better outcomes for all.

This process was kick-started at IMEX Frankfurt at the BestCities Executive Board meeting alongside a BestCities Strategic Thinkers Groupto obtain insights into what we can do better together.

The mission of the Strategic Thinkers is to serve as BestCities’ marketplace co-creation partner, providing counsel on trends and operational experiences to help guide the future direction of the Alliance.

The program will focus on topics such as:

• Risk management
• Conference and meeting design
• The role of hybrid in the future
• Technology solutions and data management
• Member and digital engagement; and
• Bringing creativity and innovation into events

MCB is keen to ensure the Global Forum format is cutting-edge and draws upon the expertise of clients in the room. Attendees can expect a dynamic mix of workshops, presentations and hands-on experiences throughout Melbourne that demonstrate the importance of in-person learning and collaboration.

Why come to Melbourne for the forum?

The 2024 forum dates have been chosen to coincide with Melbourne’s summertime - an electric time to be in Melbourne, when the whole city comes alive. In fact, the forum will be held during one of the world’s best international sporting events, the Australian Tennis Open held at Melbourne & Olympic Parks.

The intersection between major and business events will be on show during the Global Forum, where MCB and BestCities will showcase how the city’s exciting events calendar, state-of-the-art infrastructure and world-class supply chain can enhance conference and meeting offerings.

Delegates will see firsthand Melbourne at its finest and our capacity to manage events when they come to the city.

Register for the BestCities Global Forum now

Find out more about how you can attend the 2024 BestCities Global Forum in Melbourne's summer and start planning your trip now.