On Wednesday 24th November, over 450 eventprofs joined us in-person at Central Hall Westminster and digitally on Arena for Hire Space's annual thought leadership event, EventLAB.
The day, which was hybrid for the first time, was packed full of fascinating panel discussions, workshops and activities, as well as a delicious lunch, plenty of mingling with our handpicked partners and exhibitors throughout the day, and a celebratory networking drinks reception to wrap up the show. Read on below for everything that went down during the day, and stay tuned for individual session writeups coming soon!
The morning
As in-person delegates arrived to Central Hall Westminster bright and early, they were greeted by our registration team who checked them in and handed them their branded lanyards and badges, courtesy of identilam. Delegates were then shown to the main exhibition hall where they were free to chat to our exhibitors, have some fun at the photo wall and help themselves to a coffee at our complimentary drinks station before the day's sessions began.
Our gorgeous branding was the work of b2 Live Events, and our AV and production partner for the day was White Light.
Our exhibitors included: Royal Museums Greenwich, Delaware North, State of Play, King's Place, Sea Containers, One Birdcage Walk, Edwardian Hotels, 1 Wimpole Street, Vue Conferences & Events, b2 Live Events, White Light, identilam and Yahire.
Check out a full list of our partners and exhibitors
The afternoon
After the morning's content sessions, a delicious lunch was served by Green & Fortune, Central Hall Westminster's catering partner. On the menu was braised beef, crispy cod cheeks, and build-your-own beetroot burgers, all made with sustainably sourced ingredients. The delegates (and the Hire Space team) also enjoyed the decadent dessert station!
After lunch, the delegates settled in for the afternoon's sessions, making sure to make time to join in on fun immersive activities led by our experience partners. Wildgoose were running their Level Up game, in which delegates could download an app and begin an interactive treasure hunt-style game. GOTO Events brought along their Qube game, in which delegates had to race the clock to complete various challenges. Sixth Sense Events were also there to provide a much-welcomed sweet treat in the form of liquid nitrogen ice cream, which proved very popular, as you can imagine!
At 5pm, sessions were wrapped up and all of our delegates returned to the exhibition hall for our networking drinks reception. Central Hall Westminster served some delicious snacks, as well as prosecco, beer, and sustainable mocktails!
Handpicked partner introductions
Our team was on hand all day to chat with delegates and match their specific event needs to the appropriate exhibitor at the show. This was great for delegates, as they had the opportunity to discuss their event needs with relevant suppliers and venues, and our exhibitors in turn received some really great enquiries off the back of these conversations.
The content
We were lucky enough to be joined by some incredible, industry-leading speakers, each discussing important topics and trends for the events industry.
There were 9 panel discussions and 3 workshops, covering a whole range of topics from brand building and marketing to running post-pandemic events, as well as sessions on sustainability, diversity, stress management and leadership. Some of our expert speakers included Mark Bannister, Technical Director for COP26, Kuba Wiezcorek, Co-Founder and Former CMO of eve sleep, and Gabrielle Austen-Browne, Co-Founder of Diversity Ally.
Every session was educational, insightful and packed full of useful takeaways and tips. Thanks to all of our speakers, and also to our MC for the day, Shonali Devereaux, Co-Founder of the Diverse Speaker Bureau, for tying the whole day together.
Read all the writeups and watch the session recordings
Well, that's a wrap... it's difficult times for the events industry, so it was fantastic to see everyone coming together for a fantastic day in spite of this.
We want to say a huge thanks to all of our wonderful suppliers, exhibitors and partners, our host venue Central Hall Westminster, and of course all of our wonderful delegates for making EventLAB 2021 another great one for the books. Keep an eye on your inbox and our social channels for session writeups coming soon!
Author
Izzie Lachecki
Izzie brings a deep understanding of the events world to Hire Space, and keeps busy by writing lots of Hire Space and EventLAB content and managing the Hire Space social media presence.
