In honour of International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate all of the strong, talented women in our fast-paced, complex events industry. To put perspective on the current landscape for women in our industry, we have invited several female leaders from across the Vancouver Convention Centre and our wider organization of B.C. Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) and sister-facility BC Place for a timely roundtable discussion.

A colourful parade led by First Nations performers, followed by masses of people flapping and squawking in bird costumes? Not your usual conference kickoff – but perhaps more meeting planners should take note.

To complement our trends predictions for 2018, we wanted to dive deeper into what planners and delegates are looking for in food and beverage this year.

It's the start of a new year! We're kicking off 2018 by sharing some trends we think will shape the industry into becoming a fresh, innovative and successful one this year.

Technology is ubiquitous and can be overwhelming. But it can also be incredibly useful, complementing and enhancing the overall event. Here are 7 easy ways we are seeing technology used by meetings planners, venues and attendees to ease the on-site experience:

Speed dating. Blind dating. Online dating. These matchmaking options aren’t new to us, but have you heard of brain dating?

In our busy everyday lives, we often focus much of our energy on our loved ones and work commitments and forget to take time for ourselves. This Valentine’s Day, we want to remind you to take time to love yourself first.

At a certain point in the planning process, an event planner will be asked by the venue, “Do you have any rigging”?, As most events do in fact hang items, from simple banners through to complex production set-ups. So, what does the planner need to know before talking to the rigging team?

At the Vancouver Convention Centre we welcome all kinds of guests with all types of culinary tastes and preferences. Chef Blair Rasmussen, executive chef at the Vancouver Convention Centre spent a few minutes with us, giving us his insights on what he thinks are the top five food trends for the year ahead.

In this digital age, we have a plethora of ways to extend the reach of our events. Here are a few ideas to consider for your next event.

In today’s complex meeting environment, security can take on a wide range of forms. Indeed, many corporate groups bristle at the thought of their competitors being around. Any of these scenarios can increase the need for vigilance by meeting planners and those in charge of security.

In May 2016 Vancouver Convention Centre became the first convention centre in North America to become a Healthy Venue, certified by the World Obesity Federation. This coincided with World Obesity hosting its International Congress on Obesity at the Vancouver Convention Centre.