The first Delegate Wranglers (DW) on The Road event took place last month at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, and brought together a room of event planners to debate and discuss The Future of Events, or more specifically ‘More Than … The Future of Events’.
This ‘More Than’ addition has become a mantra for the success of these events. Although the first of a series created through an education partnership between Lime Venue Portfolio and the Delegate Wranglers, there has been a previous pilot edition in London and the model of filling a room up with intelligent event planners and dropping content bombs on them has fast become a rewarding one.
More Than … The Future of Events, meant firstly a look at the future of sustainable event food, using the subject as a metaphor for a wider discussion around sustainability in general, and its gradual move towards a wider ESG perspective. The event then looked at AI and the event industry. However, no star gazing allowed, this was about adoption and best practice.
These On the Road events differentiate themselves from other events as they are specifically constructed with the intention that the smart people aren’t always on the stage, they’re in the room. Guests shout out opinions, speakers react to them; there are questions, but most people are there to make a point, or to listen to colleague voice theirs. It makes for a lively discussion, some debate, and somewhere between empathetic sharing and a move towards consensus. They feel good, they underline what the Delegate Wranglers is all about.
Lime Venue Portfolio, long since the cheerleaders for better events, and betterment in general, make it their place to do things that progress industry learning and collaboration. The look at the industry through the prism of food and venue, but increasingly their spectacles are as green tinted as they are rose. These are big conversations. In Leeds, Jo Austin, Sales Director, Lime Venue Portfolio, and now also C&A Sustainability Lead, Compass UK&I, set up the afternoon with a discussion with Ben Campbell, Managing Director of the Royal Armouries, on food, legacy, and sustainability at events. Everyone joined in.
Jo then continued the conversation alongside Caroline Medcalf, Director of Events for XSEM, and Charlotte Lilleyman, PWC Meeting Service Account Manager, where the discussion took its inevitable turn towards accreditation and decision making around sustainability. These are important conversations that need time, space, and diverse opinion, all of which this series can give in abundance. Contributions came from across the guests and those who wanted to speak did, those who wanted to take it in at their own pace, in their way, did too.
Next, we heard from Bruce Rose, Head of Strategy, Live Group, who sparked a lively conversation around AI in the event industry. This was a more nuanced session than many were used to, again involving more input from the audience and a chance to discuss relevant issues. We know this technology is on the way, we’re beginning to see how it is being applied, but it’s the event industry’s way to question practicalities, legalities, safety, and structure, not just to run with eyes wide closed. Bruce worked with the group to agree practical applications, and the pros and cons, the whys and why nots, of using AI.
In the next session Ayesha Zaineb, Student at Leeds Beckett University, bought to life a discussion on what the future looks like. Sometimes, to get an insight into what future generations see in events, you have to ask them, and Ayesha came armed with opinions, lived experiences, and the ability to share and articulate her aspirations of a career in events. Judging by how the audience leant into what she had to say, it will be a long career.
FInally, the meeting closed with a discussion with Neil Thompson, Founder and CEO of the Delegate Wranglers on his own reflections of the day, how this community can continue to get the most from being a member, and how these events can begin to shape new conversations amongst event planners.
The meeting was washed down with low and no beverages and plant-based food that bought the themes to life and provided a small insight into what the future could taste like, as well as what it could look like. As with the content, if the food is any sign, the future of the event industry will be responsible, sustainable, and fulfilling.
