Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, looks ahead to an exciting conference programme at Host City 2017, bringing major event opportunities to cities of all sizes
Host City, the world leading event hosting conference, returns to Glasgow for a third consecutive year on 28 to 29 November 2017.
Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at EventScotland and Chairman of Host City 2017, said: “I’m delighted Host City is returning to Glasgow for the third year running.
“I’ve always enjoyed attending the conference and exhibition and not just because they keep choosing to come to one of Scotland’s great cities.
“I’m always impressed with the high-quality delegates and excellent speakers that attend Host City. The combination of exciting and relevant content means you can really delve into the issues facing the sector, while also creating more meaningful debate. It also allows for greater opportunities to network and make those all-important industry contacts.
“My expectations for this year is an exciting programme of interesting panel discussions, keynote speeches and networking opportunities with high quality delegates from the sporting, cultural and business events sector.”
The conference theme this year is High Impact Events in the Current Climate.
Paul Bush OBE said: “It is an exciting but also a challenging time for hosts of High Impact Events. The recent events in London, Manchester and the rest of the world have again brought security to the fore.
“The current security climate and the rising costs this brings is a major issue for events for all sizes, especially ones of High Impact that attract wide-spread attention and large crowds, so the session on ‘Strategies for hosting safe and accessible events’ is especially pertinent.
“Alongside the challenges there are also great opportunities. The rise in technology means that audiences engage with an event in a whole new and exciting way. The session on ‘How technology can enhance the live experience’ will be particularly apt for events adjusting to this new way of engagement and delivery.
“For High Impact Events in the current climate, dealing with these challenges while harnessing these new opportunities is vital and it’s great to see the conference programme reflecting these current issues.”
There are many benefits to staging Host City conference and exhibition, the largest meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events.
Paul Bush said: “The economic impact of any event like this is significant. It is also a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland as the perfect stage for events, and for delegates to see first-hand what Glasgow has to offer.
“For us at EventScotland it is also a wonderful opportunity to welcome the international family of the events industry. We have a packed programme of major events taking place in the coming years, including the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships and The 2019 Solheim Cup so it will be great to have some of the world’s foremost event practitioners coming to Glasgow for Host City where we’ll be able to swap ideas and discuss how we manage some of the current challenges whilst making the most of the upcoming opportunities together.
“My other expectation for this year is for a greater opportunity for delegate cross-over between Host City and our own National Events Conference, which takes place the day before Host City.”
The full transcript of a wide-ranging interview with Paul Bush will be published in the Autumn issue of Host City magazine. For more information about Host City visit www.hostcity.com.
