BestCities Global Alliance

The best connections are rarely made on a show floor. They happen over dinner. Last night in Hanoi, BestCities Global Alliance hosted delegates from IEEE Convene. Partner cities #Singapore, #Melbourne, #Houston, #Dublin, and #WashingtonDC welcomed clients for an evening together. One table, five destinations, nine clients, and the kind of conversations that are hard to schedule but easy to remember. #BestCitiesGA #IEEEConvene #IEEEConvene26 #BusinessEvents #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #MeetingsMatter Visit Singapore Business Events Melbourne Convention Bureau Houston First Corporation Dublin Convention Bureau Destination DC

If a city is a good place to live, is it also a good place to bring your delegates? The EIU by Economist Enterprise Global Liveability Index 2026 ranks 173 cities on stability, healthcare, culture, education, and infrastructure. Four of the top ten are #BestCitiesGA partner cities: #Copenhagen at number one, #Melbourne third, #Vancouver ninth, and #Tokyo tenth. The overlap is not a coincidence. The things that make a city liveable, safe streets, good transport, strong healthcare, a rich cultural life, are the same things that make delegates feel looked after and free to focus on why they came. Liveability and hosting quality tend to travel together. Good to live in. Good to meet in? Let us know in the comments. https://lnkd.in/eCSk9qQ3 #BusinessEvents #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #CityDestinations Copenhagen Convention Bureau Melbourne Convention Bureau Meet Vancouver Business Events Tokyo

South Africa makes its own case, and this new "Visit South Africa" video captures just a little of why. #CapeTown will host the #BCGlobalForum from 21 to 24 January 2027, and there are few settings that bring people together quite like this one. We are proud to be taking the Global Forum here, to a city that pairs world-class hosting with a genuine sense of place. For the association leaders joining us, the destination will be as much a part of the experience as the conversations themselves. More info: https://lnkd.in/ghq4u7Y4 #BestCitiesGA #BusinessEvents #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #CityDestinations Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau

Winning a congress like this takes more than a good venue. It takes a city that researchers in the field already take seriously. Melbourne has secured the Congress of the Asia Oceania Human Proteome Organization (AOHUPO) for 2027, a global gathering held once every two years. Proteomics may not be a household word, but it sits at the heart of precision medicine, pathogen detection, and drug development, and landing this congress says a lot about Victoria's standing in biotech and biomedical research. The bid came together through Melbourne Convention Bureau working in collaboration with the Australasian Proteomics Society, with support from the Victorian Government. That model, a bureau, a scientific body, and a government aligned behind one goal, is exactly how business events get anchored to a place for the right reasons. As MCB Chief Executive Julia Swanson puts it, delegates who come for events like this "extend their stays and explore the region, creating ripple effects that support jobs" and local economies well beyond the congress itself. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/g3_RdrBy #BestCitiesGA #BusinessEvents #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #AssociationEvents

One squad. One summer. All cards on the table. The BestCities Lineup is complete. From Guadalajara to Vancouver, via Tokyo, Dublin, Cape Town, and every city in between. Has this been our most fun campaign to date? Swipe through all the cards and tell us in the comments: which city had the best picks? #BestCitiesGA #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #MICE #FIFA2026 #BestCitiesLineup visitBerlin – Berlin Convention Office Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau Copenhagen Convention Bureau Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism Dublin Convention Bureau Meet in Guadalajara Houston First Corporation Madrid Convention Bureau Melbourne Convention Bureau Visit Singapore Business Events Business Events Tokyo Meet Vancouver Destination DC

Event technology moves fast enough that a guide is only as useful as its last update. Tokyo has refreshed its #MICE Technology Guidelines for 2026, adding five new tools and bringing the full catalogue to 28. The value is in how it is built: every technology comes with a plain explanation, real examples of how it has been used, and a named supplier, so an organiser can go from idea to quote without the usual guesswork. The additions lean into where the industry is heading, including #AI guidance through digital humans and AI-driven chat and surveys for participants and staff. It is a practical read for anyone weighing how far to take technology at their next exhibition or congress. Download the guidelines here: https://lnkd.in/gs4pBaes #BestCitiesGA #BusinessEvents #InnovationInMeetings #EventProfs #MICE Business Events Tokyo

Card 13: #Vancouver may not be hosting the World Cup Final today, but it is closing The BestCities Lineup. As one of three FIFA host cities in our squad, Vancouver has had quite a summer. We can only imagine how many salmon burgers were served by the water, how many local craft beers were raised in celebration, and how many fans took home a Grizzly Bear to remember it by. What is the one thing you would go back to (or visit) Vancouver for? #BestCitiesGA #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #MICE #FIFA2026 #Vancouver #Canada #BestCitiesLineup #13CitiesOneSquad Meet Vancouver

An #inclusion strategy that works in one city will not simply copy and paste into the next. Ask ten organisers what an inclusive event looks like and you may get ten different answers, shaped by where in the world they are working. In one destination it starts with Indigenous recognition. In another, with the calendar and the observances a programme needs to work around. In another, with how delegates actually move between venues. Here is the harder part. A diverse speaker lineup cannot make up for a networking reception designed only for extroverts. A venue can meet every legal requirement and still overlook neurodiversity, economic accessibility, or psychological safety. Compliance is a floor, not a finish line. Which leaves something worth sitting with: are we asking attendees to adapt to our events, or designing events that work for more of them? If you are heading to the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition, join us for a live discussion on this on Sunday 16 August, 12.00 to 12.45, in the Global Lounge. Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/e5yRctNu #BestCitiesGA #BusinessEvents #InclusiveEvents #EventProfs #AssociationEvents ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership Associations Now

Card 12: #Berlin, where every corner has a story. Berlin turns everything into a legend, from a gate that stood through history to a little traffic light man that became a souvenir the whole city is proud of. Currywurst at a street stand, craft beer brewed in the city, and the Carnival of Cultures filling the streets every summer. This is a city that leaves a mark on everyone who visits. What is your favourite thing about Berlin? Tell us below. #BestCitiesGA #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #MICE #FIFA2026 #Berlin #Germany #BestCitiesLineup #13CitiesOneSquad visitBerlin – Berlin Convention Office

Africa's business events story is one of the most compelling in the industry right now, and the alliance's presence there is growing. BestCities Global Alliance is pleased to welcome #Kigali, Rwanda as the 14th member of its global network. The Rwandan capital brings a congress calendar that already reaches years ahead, with the ICCA Congress 2027 and the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Conference 2027 secured. "As one of Africa's fastest-growing meeting destinations, Kigali is a natural fit for BestCities," said Julia Swanson, BestCities' Board Chair. Kigali's combination of strong knowledge sectors, a clear commitment to sustainability, and an understanding of how business events drive social and economic impact reflects exactly what the alliance was built around. Welcoming Kigali deepens the network's reach and adds a destination with a genuine story to tell inside and outside the meeting room. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gQaFjwSq #BestCitiesGA #BusinessEvents #GlobalCollaboration #EventProfs #CityDestinations Rwanda Convention Bureau - RCB