Press release -
Line-up confirmed for National Events Conference
Scotland’s National Events Conference, Scotland the Perfect Stage, will be lit up by a Key Note speech from one of the world’s leading Events and Festivals industry figures, Brendan McClements, Chief Executive of Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC), Australia.
McClements has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne-based organisation for the past six years, further establishing its reputation as a world-leading major events acquisitions business.
He gained extensive experience in sport during his time with the International Cricket Council and, prior to his current role, held senior posts in commercial, marketing and public affairs within the brewing, financial and sporting industries.
His address will draw a number of interesting parallels between international and community events across sport and culture in both Scotland and Victoria, and will be his first Key Note speech outside of Australia.
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, is home to over 4 million people and is a destination celebrated for its style and sophistication. In hosting some of the world’s biggest sporting, entertainment and cultural events - including the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open Tennis Championships, White Night Melbourne, Grace Kelly: Style Icon Exhibition, and the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2013 - visitors from around the world have revelled in Melbourne’s inspiring architecture, exceptional hotels, outstanding food and drink offer and friendly atmosphere.
Excited at the prospect of sharing his considerable knowledge with a captive audience at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on December 3, McClements said:
“Scotland’s reputation as a home for major events continues to go from strength to strength and there are a number of parallels between Scotland and Victoria in the approach they’ve each adopted in driving success in this area.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to share with the local events industry some insights into what Victoria has learnt over the years and continue to learn more about what is a competitive, dynamic but, above all, interesting industry.”
The National Events Conference, delivered by VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, will examine the latest industry trends, issues and topics with insight from expert speakers and in-depth sessions on the areas affecting the Scottish events industry.
The international context will also be considered as Scotland maintains and builds upon its reputation as an elite event destination. The recently refreshed National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage, will provide a central theme to the conference and will allow all of those involved in the delivery of events to discover more about the opportunities it will provide to their businesses.
Compered by renowned Scottish broadcaster, Rhona MacLeod, the session will open with a welcome address from Dr Mike Cantlay OBE, Chair of VisitScotland, and Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs.
VisitScotland’s Director of Events and Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, Paul Bush OBE, will then offer insight into the international context within which Scotland’s event portfolio operates. This will be followed by a panel session involving Eleanor Cannon, the first Chair of Scottish Golf; Chief Executive of Perth and Kinross Council, Bernadette Malone CBE; and Colin Hartley, Championships Director of the recently held World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow.
Stuart Turner, Head of EventScotland, will provide an analysis of the new national events strategy until 2025 while Brigadier David Allfrey MBE, Producer and Chief Executive of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, will explain what its revision could mean to events of all shapes and sizes.
Gurjit Singh Lalli, curator of TEDxGlasgow, will also lead an innovation-themed discussion and reflect upon the exciting opportunities new developments could bring to events in Scotland.
In-depth sessions on key topics affecting the industry will also feature events experts to complete the not-to-be missed line-up.
Delegates can sign up to the National Events Conference at www.nationaleventsconference.scot. Register before midnight on 31st October to take advantage of the 3 for 2 delegate offer – buy two places and take a third colleague for free.
The full list of confirmed speakers for the National Events Conference is as follows:
- Brendan McClements, Chief Executive Victorian Major Events Company, Melbourne
- Dr Mike Cantlay OBE, Chair of VisitScotland
- Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs
- Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events
- Eleanor Cannon, Chair of Scottish Golf
- Bernadette Malone CBE, Chief Executive of Perth and Kinross Council
- Colin Hartley, Championships Director of the World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow
- Stuart Turner, Head of EventScotland
- Marie Christie, VisitScotland’s Events Directorate Head of Development
- Neil Brownlee, VisitScotland’s Events Directorate Head of Business Tourism
- Paul McGreal, owner of Durty Events and Race Director, Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon
- Fiona Richmond, Project Manager, Scotland Food & Drink
- Kresanna Aigner, Director, Findhorn Bay Arts Festival
- Angus Gordon Lennox, Executive Chairman at Gordon Castle
- Bernard Higgins, Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable
- Kevin Sewell, Scottish Borders Council
- Gurjit Singh Lalli, Curator TEDxGlasgow
- Brigadier David Allfrey MBE, Producer and Chief Executive of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
For more information on the conference and further details of the full programme, visit the conference website: www.nationaleventsconference.scot.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- eventscotland
- business events
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
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- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
