It's been a milestone year for M&IT as we celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2017 - and it's also been a milestone year for the event industry as a whole. Here's a look back at the
biggest stories on meetpie.com over the last 12 months.
January
- MCI UK managing director Jennifer Jenkins announced she was to leave the leading event agency after 15 years
- Former
Capita director Paul Stoddart joined CWT Meetings & Events as its new
managing director for UK, IE and Benelux
February
- Tributes
flowed in for the widely-loved industry stalwart Maarten Tromp, who died after
a short battle with cancer
- ICCA made a solidarity visit to Istanbul, with CEO Martin Sirk saying that Turkey has a “vital role” to play in the events industry.
March
- The Concerto Group announced the appointment of Adam Elliott as CEO, replacing Sam Gill
- James Heappey MP, chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group for Events, told International Confex that Brexit does not
need to have any detrimental impact on the industry
- Touch merged with Milton Keynes based events agency dbmt
April
- Mismanagement and attempts to diversify into other markets spelled the end of Bluehat according to former business partner Catalyst Global, as it confirmed the UK company had been liquidated
- Smyle Group, home to agencies Smyle, Pumphouse and Smyle Moving image, delivered another record year – and announced plans to open a US office
- Sportsworld suffered a £5.1 million loss, blaming the results on Brexit, terrorism and the weather
May
- Too many agencies and not enough business to go around were to blame according to AddingValue founder Randle Stonier as he confirmed his agency had been voluntarily liquidated
- IMEX chairman Ray Bloom hailed this year's IMEX in Frankfurt as the "largest and most innovative show ever."
- Capita acquired York-based event management company NYS Corporate, just one of a number of high profile acquisitions in the industry this year.
June
- The ground breaking ceremony for the International Convention Centre Wales took place at the Celtic Manor Resort, marking a landmark moment for the development
- EVCOM appointed Jennifer Jenkins as its new chief executive
July
- A name and shame list of accused bogus industry professionals was emailed to attendees of the Association Meetings Conference, kicking off one of the biggest debates of the year
- Business travel spend grew almost 7 per cent in the UK in 2016, reaching almost £39 billion, according to the GBTA
August
- Events industry professionals were urged to audit all data to prepare for General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), as the sector was labelled as hoarders
- The Meetings Show announced a new two-day format for 2018 in what will be the show’s sixth edition
September
- Jack Morton Worldwide recorded pre-tax profits of £6.5 million in a “peak” year for the agency
- Security concerns came to the fore after a comedian handed Theresa May a P45 during her speech at the Conservative party conference
October
- UK planners were outed as the most optimistic in Europe, according to research by American Express Meetings & Events
- Somerset House provided the backdrop as the events apprenticeship finally became a reality
- Industry charity Meeting Needs celebrated reaching £1 million in income raised and helping more than 145 causes since it was founded 14 years ago
November
- Industry innovator Paul Flackett died after a long illness, aged 69
- Tourism minister John Glen promised to help the industry work directly with government to win business
December
- More than 74,000 appointments took place at IBTM World in Barcelona, setting a new record for the show.
- BCD Meetings & Events acquired Grass Roots Meetings & Events for £22.7m, creating the largest events agency in the UK
