Global event leaders unite to “drive the change” at Host City 2023

High profile events undoubtedly contribute to a city’s economy and identity and over the past two decades Glasgow has cemented its reputation as the perfect location for international events.

Glasgow is a pioneer and an architect of its own future which has led the way in reacting to change.

Looking ahead, how will host cities respond to ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion are not just fashionable buzz words?

We must commit to collectively making a genuine effort to drive the change that celebrates access for all.

AI and other technologies are a having a transformative impact on events, but the balance between automation and human interaction will be key considerations to understand and navigate going forward.

We are all very privileged to work in this sector.

But as I have said previously, I would encourage all of you to continue to extoll the values and benefits of the sector to ensure that our funding partners whoever they may be, governments, commercial, or the paying spectator, continue to support and be excited by events!

We went from 2019 where the world was exploding with events to the darkest period ever where we had to react to just survive.

And here we are at the end of 2023 – a year that has been massive. It has been bigger than 2019 and it has been non-stop.

More and more sporting events, bigger music festivals and larger conferences.

I am confident that our industry will drive and react.

AI is not coming – it is here.

Whether you integrate it or not, your fans and consumers are going to bring it to your doorstep and demand those services.

We need to activate people, so what Paris is doing is brilliant.

If people are active, they are more keen to watch sport and stay active which is good for the city.

We are at a really exciting pivot. We are in the operational delivery phase and going into a greater level of detail now we have a formal masterplan.

Climate change is a hot topic and the Winter Olympics rely on the climate. We don’t know how much snow will be there in 2026 but we are trying to plan as much as possible. We are improving snow-making technologies.

I feel that we host the cultural Olympics in Edinburgh.

We are clearly in a different world in terms of the pressure on public sector expenditure, which impacts heavily on our events industry, so we are extremely pleased to have such good numbers at Host City in Glasgow, Scotland.

It has been great to hear how the industry is driving change in areas including policy objectives, fan engagement, and digital twins for event planning.

But in other areas, such as artificial intelligence and climate change, we are still reacting to change.