Imagine that, as an event location, you get almost 4,000 partners from the events sector. 4,000 creative and enterprising partners, but also people who are just that little bit more critical of whether everything runs smoothly in Utrecht. We asked the main organisers, Arjen Lemstra, founder and organiser, and Tamara Boogaard, Key account manager Jaarbeurs, to look back at this anniversary edition and what their plans are for next year.
In early March 2023, the 15th edition of EventSummit took place: the annual event for the event industry itself. In 2021, corona time, the Summit was one of the few events that was allowed to go ahead, as an experiment to investigate how events could be organised safely and corona-proof. Those days are thankfully definitely behind us and Jaarbeurs could therefore safely fill up again for this anniversary edition. More than 300 exhibitors and almost 20 keynote speakers ensured a vibrant day full of inspiration, information and innovation. Two radio stations broadcast live from the exhibition floor. Last but not least, it was a day full of interaction. After all, EventSummit is not there in the last place for networking.
For networking, besides people, you also need good catering. A vegetarian range, that is. Jaarbeurs has been offering the possibility of this for some time, based on its own sustainability ambitions. And the organisation of EventSummit is happy to support that ambition. Marloes van den Berg, Chief Sustainability Officer of Jaarbeurs: "The event sector needs to become more sustainable. We take this very seriously ourselves and we want to do everything we can to help our partners do the same. The fact that EventSummit chooses a fully vegetarian catering is a great example of this. Everyone can then experience how many possibilities our vegetarian cuisine offers and how tasty our alternatives are."
Arjen Lemstra: "A completely vegetarian catering certainly contributes to organising an event sustainably. And what was very nice to see is that more than 40 per cent of visitors were enticed to come by train. A big increase compared to previous editions. But of course we have even more ambitions in terms of sustainability. Think of reducing the waste left behind by our exhibitors, which we want to encourage even more. And we would also like to further curb flyering next year. Together, we can make EventSummit a little more sustainable every year."
Arjen looks back on the cooperation with Jaarbeurs with satisfaction. "In recent years, we already had the experience that Jaarbeurs really thinks along with us. Of course, you notice that it is a large organisation and that things sometimes run over more than you would like. But in the end we always come out well. It is also an easily accessible location. Together, we really managed to put on a party for the industry. The energy, the positive vibe, the enthusiastic reactions, the cosy atmosphere. I can still reminisce about it."
Tamara Boogaard is Jaarbeurss key account manager for EventSummit. She too is a satisfied person. "Our client's success is our success, especially in this case. We really feel like partners with Arjen's team as well. It gives some healthy tension when you realise that you are helping to organise the Summit for industry partners, rightly a critical audience of course. And then it's nice to hear the many positive reactions."
The EventSummit team and that of Jaarbeurs have already started preparations for the next edition. Arjen: "I am already looking forward to it. This year we saw a huge growth in the number of visitors and exhibitors and we are looking forward to continuing that growth next year. On 8 February 2024, the doors of the Jaarbeurs will open again for the most fun, sociable, largest, most efficient and most effective trade fair for the events industry. And yes, that edition will also be a lot more sustainable again."
