On November 17–18, we travelled to Porto for the 12th European Best Event Awards, which recognize the best events in Europe. Starting this year, the awards became international, so by 2018 we may see entries from Asia and the United States as well. Just a few years ago, the Golden Elephants ceremony included only one or two cases from Russia; now the finalists’ shortlist was full of Russian names, which is encouraging for us and for the industry as a whole. We are especially proud of SAP Forum, our project for SAP, which won two silver awards: Best Congress/Conference and Best Roadshow. The project also received the jury’s special prize across all award participants—the Best Evaluation Award, the highest recognition for event effectiveness. With 4,000 participants, 13 parallel sessions, 40 SAP and partner stands, and 225,000 online connections during the plenary session, it was an ambitious, large-scale project that earned its awards. The awards are worth attending not only to walk on stage to collect a prize, but also to find inspiration in the many lecture halls and workshops where event marketing and communications gurus share their expertise. Our favorite speaker this year was Timo Kiuru, creative director, independent consultant, and recipient of several prestigious awards. His presentation explored the future of events: competition or creation? As Timo put it, “The future of any industry belongs to those who create, not those who compete”—a view we wholeheartedly share.
