Venue News

A new Hollywood spot, The Trophy Room, has officially opened its doors for the event community to experience and share the lavishly created turn-of-century-antiquity-filled space with their peers. The former home to one of the world’s most superlative private collections of antebellum and civil war era carriages including Rockefeller’s curtain coach from 1850, the tucked away Tudor-styled building on Gower just west of Hollywood Boulevard has been reimagined into a glamorous and intimate high-end event space. The 3,600-square foot venue is available for private events for 102-400 party goers. At the opening night event, more than 200 professionals and influencers came dressed in their best, walked the red carpet, and sipped on showy cocktails. Reviews from Los Angeles Times writer, Eddie Lin, called it: “a bit of golden age Hollywood and posh hunting club mixed with a swinger’s swagger.”  

People on the Move

Scott Bloom, professional emcee, awards host and keynote speaker, has been named host of No More Bad Events, a podcast for event professionals seeking new ideas and strategies for staging flawless events. An eSpeakers podcast production, No More Bad Events promises to decode legendary events and meetings while providing key insights that help event professionals navigate the challenges of executing their events–from beginning to successful end. Content will include insider secrets, non-traditional approaches and must-have ideas that consistently render nothing less than world-class events as shared by celebrated event organizers and contributors. No More Bad Events is produced and presented by eSpeakers; the premier full-service platform for event organizers and sponsored by ImpactEleven, a comprehensive speaker support service. A bi-weekly podcast, No More Bad Events can be found on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcast or wherever favorite podcasts can be found. 

Hot off the Presses

As part of its commitment to sustainability and London Climate Action Week, ExCeL London has announced that it is to offset all travel emissions generated by visitors attending The Meetings Groups' The Meeting Show. This year’s Meeting Show marks its landmark 10th edition with approximately 5,000 delegates in attendance. Held at the Royal Docks venue from 29–30 June, the event is designed for any professional working within the meetings, events and incentives industry. Using official government carbon conversion factors, the ExCeL team will estimate total visitor emissions and the carbon impact generated. This figure will then be offset using ‘Gold Standard' carbon credits, which are a globally recognized, traceable program supporting Verified Emission Reduction projects. Natalie Sykes, ExCeL’s Sustainability Manager who led the project, said: “With our electricity being 100% renewable and ExCeL having a zero waste-to-landfill policy, we hope this year’s Meeting Show has been the greenest yet and the start of many more initiatives ExCeL has planned over the coming years.”  In addition, last month the ExCeL team offset its travel emissions from attending IMEX Frankfurt by investing in a school cookstoves project in Uganda, again via the 'Gold Standard' carbon credits scheme. 

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the world’s largest retailer, Walmart and Sam’s Club Associates met in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the 2022 Associates Week, June 1-3. For the first time since 2019, more than 14,000 domestic and international associates came together in person for a singularly inspiring experience. Walmart Associates Week features a lively program of events across three days. Business sessions include keynote presentations from Walmart and Sam’s Club leaders, top executives sharing fiscal results, and a diverse array of associate recognition and on-the-spot job promotions. Celebration events include nightly concerts and surprise celebrity appearances. Presentations and performances come from a sophisticated stage designed to immerse the audience in content, video, and electrifying graphics, driven by the latest in event and theater technology and featuring larger-than-life augmented reality (AR). The week culminates at Bud Walton Arena with the Associate Celebration, a live-streamed public production affectionately referred to internally by the Walmart Event Solutions team as the “mini-Grammys” and the “Super Bowl of Walmart.”