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The Venue Management Association (Asia and Pacific) has announced the dates for its 2021 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress with the event to be its first hybrid Congress featuring both live and virtual attendance options.

While the dual format will be different from previous editions, many of the key elements will remain the same, with the Congress to encompass four individual events hosted at four locations over four weeks across Australia and New Zealand.

Physical events will be held in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland for those delegates able to attend us in person while for those that are unable to travel all sessions will be made available online as live streamed Keynotes or Play on Demand recordings.

Keynotes, plenaries and workshops, all day catering, networking drinks and our Supplier Trade Floor will all remain as key elements of the events.

The Australian legs of the Congress series will take place as one day events, with lunch on arrival and concluding with the VMA’s popular ‘After 5’ networking drinks, at the:

• Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre - 27th May 2021
• Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney - 3rd June 2021
• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - 10th June 2021.

The Auckland leg of the series will be delivered in conjunction with presenting partners, the Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand (EVANZ), and will be held on 16th and 17th June 2021 at the Aotea Centre, Auckland. The event will incorporate EVANZ's traditional mid-year conference.

As the single largest meeting of venue professionals in the region, the annual Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress has, over its past five editions, broken attendance records each year and with green shoots emerging for many parts of the venues industry the events will enable the VMA, its members and the wider industry to come together for the first time in more than 12 months.

Launching the program, VMA President, Leighton Wood advised “our 2021 Congress offering will be somewhat different from previous years to account for the ongoing potential for travel restrictions.

“However, rest assured all of the elements you love and value from the Congress remain the same - we will deliver a thought-provoking and educational program, including motivational presentations, diverse technical sessions featuring high profile speakers, along with a fantastic social and networking program.”

Wood added “this year we are delighted to be able to join forces with our good friends EVANZ to deliver the Auckland leg of the series and are very much looking forward to bringing the industry together across all our events.”

EVANZ General Manager, Sally-Anne Coates added "we're really excited to be able to turbo-charge our traditional mid-year event and join forces with our colleagues from VMA.

“Of course, we're disappointed not to be able to take the event out to the regions as usual but we feel that the Auckland location will make it accessible to as many members as possible and we're planning a programme that will appeal to a wide cross-section of staff from both venues and our Associate Members."

Shaun Butler, Chief Executive of Priava, noted in recognising Priava’s long term sponsorship of the event, “following the last ‘After 5’ networking event, who would've thought that it would be more than twelve months until VMA members could meet face-to-face again?

“Priava is extremely proud to once again to be the Principal Sponsor of the 2021 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress. The new format will allow us to reconnect as an industry and discuss ways to tackle ‘new normal’ expectations at meetings and events”.

Further details available at www.vma.org.au/congress, with Early Bird Registrations opening for delegates and exhibitors on 1st April 2021.

Images: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (top) and VMA President Leighton Wood (below).

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