News & Articles - Venues

  • entertainment

    Great Canadian Entertainment Partners with Live Nation

    2023/06/16

      Great Canadian Entertainment has announced an exclusive partnership with Live Nation Canada to bring some of the biggest names in music and comedy to its venues across Canada including the 5,000-person theatre at the recently opened $1B Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. With this new partnership, Live Nation Canada becomes the exclusive booking agent, and the two companies will jointly promote the programming. This strategic alliance is one of the first of its kind in Canada and will elevate the entertainment…

    Breaking News

  • 2023

    What to Expect in 2023?

    2023/01/13

      By Shannon Byck and Joe Nishi Back in November 2020, we blogged about the impact COVID was having on people employed in the face-to-face business events industry. The financial impact was devastating for many and organizations like ours immediately took a “safe harbour” approach with their teams and business models. Even still, we lost many talented people in our industry. The strain on mental health as we restructured and re-imagined our value was and continues to be a huge…

    Event Branding & Marketing, Event Operations

  • Pandemic Positives? Event Venues Pivot for Public Good

    2020/12/09

    Convention centres have been hit hard by COVID-19, with many still seeing staff layoffs and rising budget deficits nine months into the pandemic. Although a coronavirus vaccine is on the way, there’s still a long road ahead as it may be summer or even longer until the vaccine is available to everyone. And then, even after the health crisis is under control, attendees may not flock back to in-person events, at least right away. As a result, venues are expected…

    Event Operations

  • Number of GBAC Star Certified Facilities Climbs

    2020/12/02

    Seventeen Canadian facilities are now Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star accredited and 11 more have committed to certification. Ramada by Wyndham Kamloops in British Columbia, Hyatt Place Edmonton West, RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Hyatt Place Ottawa West and Fredericton Convention Centre in New Brunswick are among those that have started the coronavirus cleaning and prevention program. Administered by GBAC, a division of the worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, GBAC Star is considered the gold standard of prepared facilities.…

    Breaking News

  • contract

    How Contracts and Negotiations have Changed with COVID-19

    2020/11/18

    The events industry was among the first sectors hit by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover, forcing many event professionals to cancel or postpone scheduled events. In the process, it has raised questions (and concern) around contracts and ensuing obligations. Here, Heather Reid, founder and CEO of Planner Protect, an Ontario-based contract review agency that negotiates event contracts for organizations and those hosting events, fields Corporate Meetings Network’s questions on this all-too important topic during…

    Contingency/Disaster Planning

  • Edmonton Venues Commit to Achieve GBAC Star Certification

    2020/07/20

    A pair of convention centres in Alberta’s capital will become two of the first venues in Canada to pursue the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star accreditation for outbreak prevention, response and recovery. The announcement by the Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton Expo Centre comes less than a month after the Toronto Congress Centre committed to the standard, and just days before the provincial government announced the resumption of trade shows and exhibits, effective July 17. GBAC Star is considered the gold standard…

    Breaking News

  • Organizers, Venues take Meaningful Steps to Bring Events Industry Back

    2020/06/10

    The events industry is getting ready for a new landscape as provincial and local governments country-wide lift pandemic-related restrictions on businesses and group gatherings. Recognizing people may be uneasy and even anxious about attending larger exhibitions like conferences and trade shows when they are allowed to resume, organizers and venues are taking steps now to impart consumer confidence. “We have been preparing for a return of events by building a list of potential measures that sit under the cornerstones of…

    Contingency/Disaster Planning, Event Operations

  • IAEE White Paper Highlights Considerations for Safe Return of Events

    2020/06/09

    A new white paper released by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) provides essential considerations for safely reopening exhibitions and events during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Although we are eager to get back to our usual face-to-face business environment, safety must be the top priority and we must look to the science and medical communities for the best ways to go about producing our shows,” says IAEE president and CEO, David DuBois. IAEE’s health and safety task force teamed…

    Breaking News

  • Edmonton solar

    Edmonton Venue Sets GHG Emissions Goal

    2020/06/09

    The Edmonton Expo Centre has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2035. “As the largest venue of its kind in Western Canada, we recognize that our venue has a substantial ability to contribute to the greenhouse gas reduction goals outlined by the City of Edmonton,” says Arlindo Gomes, vice-president of venue management for Edmonton Economic Development Corp. Built in 1984, and expanded in 2009, the Edmonton Expo Centre is a 522,000-square-foot facility that integrates…

    Breaking News

  • GBAC Star Certification to Help with Reopening of Events Industry

    2020/05/12

    A new program will enable public venues of all sizes to create and maintain an effective cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention plan that could help with the safe resumption of face-to-face events and allay attendee concerns. Unveiled by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of the worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, GBAC Star establishes requirements to assist facilities with work practices, protocols, procedures and systems to control and minimize the risk associated with virulent agents like the strain…

    Breaking News

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