Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics last month won the Malaysian International Fireworks Competition and the prestigious Merdeka Gold Trophy in Putrajaya. The winner’s trophy was presented to Howard & Sons by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a grand closing ceremony on September 2 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Howard & Sons proudly represented Australia and produced a powerful and emotional 20 minute pyromusical titled “Aurora Australis” that took the 150,000 members of the audience on a magical scenic journey through Australia. Andrew and Christian Howard said they were very proud to win this competition ahead of reputable pyrotechnicians from Japan, Malaysia and Italy.
MCI, a global association, communications and event management company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, made their presence known in Asia when they recently held their semi-annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Originally a Swiss-based event management company that grew to be a substantial pan-European company, MCI’s vision now is to build community throughout all regions of the world. MCI foresees strong growth in the Asia Pacific region for the association and events sector. To manage this growth, Robin Lokerman, CEO of MCI’s institutional division and a member of MCI’s four-person executive committee, has relocated from Europe to Asia, based at MCI’s Singapore office. “Our first expansion into Asia with MCI Singapore in 2005 succeeded beyond our initial projections,” said president and founder, Roger Tondeur. “We soon opened in Shanghai and in less than one year of operations our MCI Shanghai office has already partnered with several elite associations and corporations to manage activities for their communities. With this success we are ready to invest in a long-term business plan for Asia and expand our growth into several additional Asian countries.”
Event Venues Rotorua has been recognised in New Zealand’s top event marketing awards for its promotion of the launch of the city’s new Energy Events Centre. Event Venues won a runner’s up award for best marketing of a New Zealand event based around the successful weekend of activities that launched the NZ$28 million Energy Events Centre in March. Taranaki’s Womad Festival won the top event marketing award. The Event Industry Awards were staged during the New Zealand Association of Event Professionals’ annual conference in Auckland. Event Venues’ sales and marketing manager Diana Moore said she was over the moon to learn of their commendation. “It’s all the more significant because it’s awarded by our peers in the New Zealand events industry, and we were up against some of the biggest and best in the business. We developed an innovative marketing plan around a very tight budget and we had our work cut out to pull together a multi-faceted marketing program that would capture the imagination of our targeted audiences.”
International travel and hospitality industry recruitment specialist TMS Asia-Pacific has beefed up its China profile with the opening of its first dedicated Hong Kong office. TMS CEO, Gary Marshall, said the move was an obvious next step in the company’s development in China following its successful integration into the Shanghai market just 12 months ago. Mr Marshall, who has already expressed his interest in establishing a TMS presence in Beijing, Macau and several other Chinese cities, said a Hong Kong operation had always been on the cards for TMS.
Fiona Batten has been appointed the GSA for the Christchurch and Canterbury Convention Bureau in Australia, and will now contract to them two days per week. Ms Batten was previously at CiEvents in Sydney before taking some time off. Details of her business can be found at www.acrossthepacific.com.au.
Australia’s world-class sheep industry will soon be in the international spotlight following the announcement that the World Sheep and Wool Congress will be held in Sydney in 2010. Australia secured the right to host the event after a unanimous vote from the World Council of Sheep Breeders, defeating competitive bids from Brazil and South Africa. The 2010 Congress represents only the second time Australia has hosted the event in its 21-year history. The congress was held in Tasmania in 1989. Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau managing director, Jon Hutchison, estimates the congress will inject more than $5 million into the NSW economy.
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