Sydney was centre stage last week (July 22-23) as RSVP Sydney and the Australian Business Events Expo were declared a resounding success by exhibitors and the thousands of visitors who flooded into the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre to experience the co-located industry events.

With 100 new exhibitors at RSVP Sydney alone, both exhibitors and visitors expressed that the shows were a true reflection of a renewed life into the events industry.

The show floors of both RSVP Sydney (above) and the ABEE were buzzing with colour and excitement last week

“I came to develop new contacts and networks – and the show has been excellent for that,” said Durham AV’s general manager, Patrick Doyle. “It’s been really worthwhile coming up from Melbourne for the two days.”

Exhibitors have also reported strong interest from buyers with real events and budgets to spend. The lead generation on the stand at the Avocado Group at RSVP has been strong said the company’s general manager, Megan Bale.

“Visitors have come prepared and are asking for quotes on specific events, so we’re delighted to have such promising leads,” she said.

Now in its second year, the co-location of the shows has proven to be a very successful strategic move by the event organisers, Exhibition and Trade Fairs. And the strong attendance has been seen as a testament to the optimism present in the meetings, incentive, conference and exhibition market across Australia.

“This show is about bringing together different parts and places of the Australian MICE industry– and its success this week shows that event organisers have appreciated the chance to come and discover what’s out there,” said ABEE event manager Gabrielle Stephens.

“The work the team has done to draw together the different aspects of the industry; from the venues, the suppliers, entertainers and corporate buyers, has really paid off,” said Stephens.

Live enterainment, food tastings and much more impressed the thousands of visitors to both shows 

For the first time, the shows fully opened the dividing expo walls allowing visitors to walk freely between three exhibition halls allowing better access between the co-located shows and bringing together the entire spectrum of the events industry.

Elaborate stands brought colour and spectacle to the show floor, while aerial installations, live entertainment, floral displays within RSVP, catering and like cooking all made a strong impact.

To see the official show reel from day one of the RSVP show courtesy of Trapdoor Productions, click here.

Both the Australian Business Events Expo and RSVP Sydney will return on 10-11 August, 2011 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Spice Magazine and SpiceNews.com.au were the Platinum Media Partner for RSVP Sydney and the Gold Media Partner for ABEE.