This month we take a look back at NOEA’s Annual Convention and Awards held on Wednesday 22nd November.
Kicking off the Convention which moved to the Double Tree Hilton in Bath for the 2023 edition was a Q & A with Identity’s head of Public Sector, Lindsay Neyjahr who shared details from the delivery of London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, HM The Queen’s Funeral and Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s Coronation. Homing in on the importance of stakeholder engagement and the invaluable role the supply chain plays in the delivery of events of that scale.
Other highlights included a look at how fast the pace of change in event sustainability is with some interesting discussion points from the panel which included Rick Bate, IoSH, Event Sustainability and Health & Safety Expert; Sarah Tew, We Group and Caroline Davis, Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces.
Mark Currie from the Royal Highland Show was joined on stage by Matt Evans of See Tickets to discuss how working together and devising a new ticketing strategy improved advanced ticket sales and customer service leading to a sold-out event. They also shared how See Tickets integrates AI into the FAQ section to reduce phone calls and tailor customer facing comms accordingly.
The Brand Perspective with Karis Buckingham-Jones, project lead for Wasserman discussed how they’re working with the Chicago Bears to increase the team’s international reach with targeted events in both the UK and Spain. Karis revealed that Wasserman had originally won the pitch because of their values and the importance both parties place on diversity and inclusivity. The Bears helped launch the inaugural United Kingdom NFL Girls Flag League in London this March and with the sport now part of the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 they are doubling down on their investment and exposure.
In the evening, attention turned to the 2023 National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) Awards held at the in the Roman Baths and Pump Rooms. Amongst the winners on the night were Culture Liverpool taking away the ‘Best Events Team – Local Authority’ award, and Eurovision 2023 winning the ‘Event of the Year Award – Public Sector’, at the gala celebration.
The evening recognised events, event businesses, and individuals across the industry in what has been a tough but positive year for the sector. In a day which saw the earlier convention address the subject of ‘Future’, the evening recognised specific contributions to the industry that point to positivity for outdoor events.
As well as Liverpool continuing to receive accolades for another stunning year of events within the city, Grimsby was awarded ‘The Placemaking Award’ a new category which recognised the contribution of the city’s Grim Falfest in spurring both civic pride and economic growth in the city.
The Placemaking award was also given to We Are Placemaking for the businesses continued advocacy for placemaking within the events industry and across the UK. At the same time, the Event of the Year Award – Private Sector, was awarded to Weston Beach Race – RHL Activities, another event which brings in a global audience.
Other awards of note included Qdos Event Hire picking up the ‘Best Accessibility & Inclusion Initiative’, and Natural Event Europe, winning ‘The Sustainability Award’. On an individual perspective, the ‘Best Up and Coming Event Organiser: The One to Watch’ was awarded to Sarah Belcher, from Sarah Belcher Events, while the ‘Best Unsung Hero / Heroine Awards’, were given to Sophie Merivale, The Traffic Management Co, and Terry Marsh – Qdos Event Hire, respectively.
The judges of the awards underlined both the fierce competition across every award category, and the quality of the entries, the largest in the event’s history. The judges commented: “This has been a year where events have shown their true value to the UK. Eurovision lit everyone’s imagination, while Grim Falfest showed what we can do for local communities.
You can find the full list of award winners here.