The 2023 ABPCO Excellence Awards, which took place on Friday 8 December, saw association and not for profit event professionals gather at P&J Live in Aberdeen to celebrate success, creativity and excellence across a range of event related award categories.
The winners were:
- Best Event by an Association Events Team: RenewableUK
- Best Event by an Agency PCO: TFI Lodestar
- Best Event by an in-house PCO: RenewableUK
- Best EDI at a Conference: Commended – Salvesen Mindroom and EICC
- Industry Supplier of the Year: Whitespace XPO
- Legacy and Impact: Visit Belfast
- The Partnership Award: BritSpine Back Health Day by Mosaic Events, UK Spine Societies Board, Versus Arthritis and Glasgow Convention Bureau.
- The Rising Star Award: Malwina Soltys, Alzheimer’s Research
- The Guiding Star Award: Elaine Miller, EICC
- The Sustainability Award: British Society for Rheumatology
- Barbara Calderwood, MCI Group, who was recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.
“As the year comes to a close, it was incredible to see so much talent and creativity gathered together in one place to celebrate a fantastic 2023 for the association event industry,” commented Emma Duffy, ABPCO co-chair. “Each year these awards grow, not just in size but also quality of entries. 2023 was no exception, creating a real challenge for the judges, who saw a wide variety of solutions that demonstrated not just excellence but innovation, professional delivery and collaborative working.”
During the event, attendees experienced a city tour, venue tour, taste of Aberdeen networking, and an education session looking at how AI could be integrated into future event organising. This included special guest, Felipe Meneguzzi, Professor and Chair of Computing Science at the University of Aberdeen and Executive Councillor at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The panel discussion also featured: Samantha Shamkh from ExCeL London, Adam Parry from Event Tech Live and Adam Baggs from Soaring Worldwide. Welcome drinks also took place for first timers.
During the event £1,140 was raised on behalf of industry charity, Meeting Needs.
The 2023 ABPCO Excellence Awards were hosted by P&J Live who worked closely with Visit Aberdeenshire to showcase everything the venue and destination have to offer. Other partners were: ACC Liverpool, Abstract Events, Cvent, ExCeL London, Full Circle Events and Exhibitions Ltd, Harrogate Convention Centre, ICC Birmingham, James Hallam, Lime Venue Portfolio, Manchester Central, Memcom, Northstar Meetings Group, Nottingham Venues, Sage ICC, Soaring Worldwide, Telford International Centre, Visit Belfast and Whitespace XPO.
Sarah Byrne, ABPCO co-chair concludes: “This event could not have succeeded without the support of our sponsors and partners, in particular P&J Live, who welcomed us to their incredible venue and city. Well done to the winners and thank you to all those who put themselves forward. Being judged by your peers is no easy thing but it is a testament to the ABPCO community that so many are willing to share their successes, best practice and knowledge, allowing the industry to learn and grow together.”
The 2024 ABPCO Excellence Award will take place on 13th December in Blackpool. On 29th and 30th April, 2024 ABPCO will host its annual Festival of Learning at SEC Glasgow. Further details can be found via www.abpco.org
