The Value of Coming Together: 12 Event Trends & Ideas

By Robin Reuben, Director of Operations

Coming together and creating community are the reasons we get out of bed every morning, so we’re keeping an eye on event trends post-COVID for however long the “new normal” may last.

Since our industry’s $2.5+ trillion global economic hit from COVID-19, I’ve been inspired to share insights on event industry trends, first gleaned from the Hall of Leaders session during The Events Industry Council’s Global Meetings Industry Day:

1. There will be a short-term “new normal” but the community doesn’t foresee a long-term new normal
2. It will be much easier after COVID to transition groups into virtual and hybrid meetings
3. Be intentional about the objectives of your virtual meetings and how you execute them
4. Focus on what is good and what you want and expand your idea of what is possible
5. In-person meetings will have a much greater sense of the importance of connection, compassion, empathy and togetherness
6. Zoom and other technologies are filling the gap but not the void
7. People will want to bring greater humanity back to meetings
8. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will become even more important
9. Practicing mindfulness, meditation & gratitude can actually change the neurochemicals in our brains
10. Facts bring clarity and consistency vs. vague goals and wishes
11. Agility, adaptability, accountability, authenticity are at the core of who we are individually and collectively
12. Resilience is a state of mind — happiness, too!

While event trends point to live meetings coming back to life around the world — within the reality that we need to be watchful of how we do our live event planning — let’s keep our focus on sharing the message of the value of coming together.

So let’s do what we can today… until we meet again!

The Events Industry Council organizes Global Meetings Industry Day annually and advances the events industry and the professionals who lead the business of meetings.