"Last Friday the inaugural Conference Awards was a resounding success. To have the cream of the conference industry together for the first time and to reward excellence is absolutely brilliant. The networking opportunity was unbelievable and overall there is now a fantastic platform for the future. It’s great to see the energy, enthusiasm and vitality which is such an integral part of the events business."
Peter Rigby, CEO Informa Group

Congratulations to this year’s Conference Awards winners!

The inaugural Conference Awards held on 25 June 2010 were a huge success! On a beautiful sunny day in a terrific venue and a great atmosphere 400 conference professionals from across the industry gathered together to celebrate their collective successes over the past 18 months. The feedback from participants has been fantastic (see below) and the Conference Awards can now be viewed as very much a fixture in the industry calendar.

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To see a review of the winners click here

“...a fantastic meeting place for the events industry to recognise and celebrate the achievements of this dynamic group of people.”
Isobel Peck, Chief Marketing Officer, Informa

“The organisers set themselves a tough task but the event worked on every level: colleagues were reunited, new relationships born, achievements recognised. Bring on 2011!"
Katherine Kreuter, Conference Analyst

"Conference Awards team what a great job you have done! It was a fantastic achievement to have been able to gather so many companies from our sector in which we all had a very good informal place to meet up and give recognition to each other on the great job we are all doing really.”
Gabriela Cogorno, Head of Marketing, WBR Ltd

“I have attended many events and believe, without doubt, that your Conference Awards was one of the very best. Your venue, staging, food, entertainment and organisation were faultless. Ruby was perfect!”
Howard Winn-Moon, Director of International Relations, Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services

"Thank you for organising such a lovely inaugural Conference Awards ceremony. I can only imagine the pressure you must have felt organising an event for a group of conference organisers! The venue was superb and the food delicious, especially considering the numbers. There was a really nice buzz in the room too."
Victoria Langley, Royal College of Nursing

"Just a quick message to say a huge thank you to the team behind yesterday's Conference Awards. I think I speak for everyone at UBM Conferences when I say it was an absolutely fantastic event. "
Michael Oakes, Conference Editorial Director, UBM Conferences

“A massively attended event that exceeded all expectations. Very well done - I suspect that this will be the industry's key event for years to come."
Zahid Tharia, MD, Health Network Communications

"Just wanted to extend my thanks and say congratulations on a great event. I confess I was slightly sceptical about the concept when I first heard about it, but Friday completely won me over! "
Joby Turner, MD, IQPC UK

"A big congratulations to the Conference Awards team - an inaugural event that I think must have surpassed everyone's expectations. Full marks of course to the audience for getting in the swing and creating a great atmosphere. From management, production to catering, everyone was on their game and it showed."
Jill Fielder, Director, Blue Ant Ltd.

"We had a great time on Friday, the event was brilliant and very well organised."
Jennie Sharp Lexis Nexis

“A massive success and very exciting event to be at.  So many old friends and interesting people to meet and you created such a wonderful sense of occasion." 
Sarah McCaldin, Director, Hanson Wade

“Well done on not only pulling this off but making it an industry feature in its first year. I thought the whole event worked really well...I can’t imagine anyone going back to their office and not wanting to involve their companies next year.”
Tim Mann, Managing Director, WBR

“We were very impressed with the huge audience, the size, scale and slick professional production of the Conference Awards. It was great to meet up with so many ex-colleagues and make new contacts as well and we very much look forward to next year and I will be insisting all Green Power teams enter for an award!”
Nadim Chaudhry, Managing Director, Green Power Conferences

Over 120 entries were submitted for the 16 award categories. The winners came from all types of conference organisers – large and small, pure conference companies, media companies and associations reflecting the depth and breadth of the industry. The awards were designed to recognise and reward excellence, showcase innovation and provide a quality benchmark for individuals, teams and companies in the conference industry. The high quality of the entries and the enthusiasm for the awards has demonstrated the keenness of the industry to come together, network with colleagues and competitors and applaud increasing professionalism and leadership in the industry. Congratulations to all of the winners and a special mention must go to our first “Outstanding Contribution to Industry” Award which was presented to John Haines, the founder of IBC.