The Conference Awards 2020, which took place online, 18 November, have confirmed the winners’ roster. After what has proven a difficult year for the events industry, the event’s organisers said it was “fantastic” to look back and applaud some of the inspirational events and the venues, a reminder of how creative the industry is.
Nina Hossain (pictured), from ITV lunchtime news, hosted alongside Alan Dedicoat, the voice of Strictly Come Dancing, reeling off the winners of 20 categories which included The Sustainability award, the Best Conference Series and Best Event by an Agency as well as four categories recognising the key role which venues play in creating great events.
Picking up the Best Event by an Agency award was Private Drama, which took top honours following delivery of One Young World Summit, which took place in London in 2019.
Nicola King, business development manager at Private Drama, said she and her team were “over the moon” to have won the award. Reflecting on the judges’ comments, King said: “We are even more proud that the judges commented on our ‘impressive attention-to-detail, delivery of a challenging, high profile event within a relatively limited budget given the unique venue, size of event and security considerations’.
“They noted that we had demonstrated a real understanding of the client’s objectives and values and had a measurable impact on attendees as well as the client.”
The judges also commented on the “huge” amount of work that went into the event with a limited budget. “This project clearly had a lot of factors to consider and a huge amount of work went into it,” noted one judge. “Not just a conference but a show as well,” said another.
King added that Private Drama have been commissioned to run an event in New York for the charity. She said: “We have been retained by One Young World to deliver their inaugural New York fundraiser which was scheduled for 2020 but will now take place in 2021.”
Claire Wormsley co-founder of the Conference Awards paid tribute to the scarred sector, and said it was vital to share good news stories when they appear in the current climate. She said: “This could not have been a more traumatic year for the events industry and now, more than ever, we need good news stories and an acknowledgement of what our sector contributes and achieves. It has been wonderful to revisit inspirational past events and see the joy these awards have brought to winners and shortlisted companies alike”
Thanks go to all of our sponsors and partners as well as our very influential panel of judges without whom the event would not be possible.
2020 CONFERENCE AWARDS WINNERS
Best Association / Not for Profit Conference
National Housing Federation
Housing Finance Conference and Exhibition
Best Conference Series
Borough Bench Media
Open Banking Expo
Best Conference Venue – under 450 Theatre Style
Royal College of Physicians
Best Development of an Existing Conference – Under 1000 Attendees
Engage Business Media
Employee Engagement Summit
Best Development of an Existing Conference – Over 1000 Attendees
Wilmington Healthcare
HSJ Patient Safety Congress
Best Conference Venue – 450 to 1100 Theatre Style
Wyboston Lakes Resort
The Woodlands Event Centre
Best Event by an Agency
Private Drama Events
One Young World Summit 2019 London
Best Event Linked to a Publication
Financial Times
FT Digital Dialogues: The Global Boardroom
Best Conference Venue – Over 1100 Theatre Style
ACC Liverpool
Best Large Scale Event or Congress
Hyve Group
Bett UK
Best Technology & Telecomms Event
George P. Johnson
Cisco Live 2019
The Sustainability Award
Wellcome Collection
Events department / Winnow
Best Conference Venue Customer Service
ICC, Birmingham
Best Operations Team – Venues
Manchester Central
Operations Team
Best New Conference up to 400 delegates
EG
Future Female Leaders
Best New Conference over 400 delegates
MAD//Fest London
Best Operations Team – Events
DRPG – Live
Best Event Agency
Sleek Events
Overseas Conference of the Year
The Oil & Gas Council – Clarion Events
The MSGBC Basin Summit & Exhibition
UK Conference of the Year
SQLBits
