Business Events Sydney (BESydney), a destination marketing agency, secured another four sought-after events for the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney, bringing the center’s total economic impact (EI) for international events to more than $55 million.
Opening in late 2016, the new facilities are on schedule to welcome a host of international shining lights to Sydney.
“Business Events Sydney has now secured 11 events for ICC Sydney, nine of which fall within the [New South Wales] government’s priority sectors. These events will attract industry leaders from sectors as broad as professional services, ICT, international education and research, and medicine,” said Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO, Business Events Sydney. “Business events and their legacies help to further NSW’s expertise and growth, and we are excited by the redevelopment of Sydney’s Darling Harbour precinct and the new ICC Sydney. These facilities will be key to continuing growth, fostering collaboration and furthering our global connections to fuel productivity.”
The four new international events that will take place in ICC Sydney are:
- The IEEE Semiannual Vehicular Technology Conference in 2017, which is expected to attract 650 delegates over four days and generate an EI of $2.2 million
- The World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI) Asia Pacific Regional Conference and General Assembly in 2017, which is expected to attract 450 delegates over two days and generate an EI of $1 million
- The International Council of Commercial Arbitration Congress in 2018, which is expected to attract 800 delegates over four days and generate an EI of $3 million
- International Congress of Behavioural Optometry (ICBO) in 2018, which is expected to attract 600 delegates over four days and generate an EI of $2.2 million.
“We’re thrilled with our global clients’ response to ICC Sydney. To have 11 events secured, about 2.5 years out from opening is such a strong sign of confidence and trust in Sydney’s ability to deliver world-class events and infrastructure,” said Lewis-Smith. “Conferences such as these have a massive impact on Sydney’s knowledge economy and Australia’s place on the global stage. Collaboration in the fields of research and best practice are simply more effective with the meeting of minds in one city. And there’s no better place to meet than in Sydney. It’s where people want to be.”
New South Wales (NSW) accounts for just under half of Australia’s total professional, scientific and technical exports, and in the past decade, professional services have been the third largest industry for the state. These factors, among others, helped BESydney to win the International Council of Commercial Arbitration Congress.
The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) accepted a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand for its 2018 Congress to be held in Sydney, with an add-on event in Queenstown, New Zealand. The announcement was made at the association’s latest meeting in Miami, which attracted over 1,000 arbitrators and arbitration practitioners.
Lewis-Smith said Sydney was an Asia-Pacific hub for professional services firms and talent.
“This win is a coup for Sydney that simultaneously recognizes our leadership and strengthens our position in this vital sector,’ she added.
NSW is also home to the largest ICT industry in the country, with over 60 percent of Australia’s ICT regional headquarters and operations centers based in Sydney. The IEEE Semi-annual Vehicular Technology Conference is a biannual conference, last held in Australia in 2006.
The IEEE Vehicular Technology Society concerns itself with land, airborne and maritime mobile services; portable commercial and citizens’ communications services; vehicular electrotechnology, equipment and systems of the automotive industry; traction power, signals, communications and control systems for mass transit and railroads.
Manufacturing makes an enormous direct and indirect contribution to the state’s economy, generating around $34 billion in GDP. Sydney last hosted the WSMI Asia Pacific Regional Conference and General Assembly in 2000. The WSMI is a federation of over 50 member associations representing manufacturers and distributors of non-prescription medicines and other self-care products categories on all continents. WSMI requires member associations to develop voluntary codes of advertising practice and encourages consumer-friendly labelling.
The International Congress of Behavioural Optometry (ICBO) is organized by the Optometric Extension Program Foundation, which is dedicated to the advancement of optometry through the gathering and dissemination of information and research on vision and the visual process. The NSW government’s annual investment in health and medical research now exceeds $200 million, and the state is recognized internationally for the quality of its education and training, as well as its strong community of behavioral optometrists, which is one of the reasons the ICBO is being held in Sydney in 2018.
NSW has the largest research sector in Australia with the country ranked seventh in the world for the quality of its research institutions by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13.
“Sydney’s selection as host for these four heavy-weight conferences further demonstrates the global interest in the city’s stunning new convention and exhibition facilities. ICC Sydney will open in late 2016 and will be a hub for the world’s best and brightest to connect, collaborate and innovate,” added Lewis-Smith.
