The North East’s passion for sport was celebrated at International Confex (17-19 February at Olympia, London) as NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau marked a year of rugby at the UK’s leading and longest standing exhibition for conference and event professionals.
The Bureau was joined by stand partners Crowne Plaza Newcastle, Sage Gateshead, Sodexo, representing Newcastle United Football Club, SAFC and Echo Events to fly the flag for the North East business tourism industry at the two-day event.
As well as finding out more about the fantastic venues and experiences available in NewcastleGateshead, Confex delegates attended our ‘Year of Rugby’ drinks reception, were amazed by rugby-themed magic from North East magician, Paul Lytton and watched world ‘keepie uppie’ champion, Dan Magness, who became the first person in the world to keep a ball in the air for 24 hours without dropping it.
Paul Szomoru, head of business tourism at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “The rugby theme acknowledged what will be an exciting year for NewcastleGateshead. Newcastle is one of the Host Cities for Rugby World Cup 2015, the third biggest sporting event in the world. Three matches will take place at St James’ Park in October 2015. This follows Magic Weekend – Rugby League’s unique six-match extravaganza – in May 2015. Thousands of UK and international visitors will experience all of the sights and sounds of our vibrant city as well as our famous warm Geordie welcome.
I’ve been attending Confex for 14 years and it’s an event that always has a real energy and a great buzz about it. Our stand partners helped us to do a stellar job of showcasing why NewcastleGateshead is a leading UK conference destination and we made the most of our opportunity to learn, engage, network and research with meetings and events professionals, as well as capture new business opportunities.”