Stavanger - the city on the edge

"The Asian Paints Conqueror's Gala was the culmination of two years' work to bring this incentive to Norway, and a chance to show what creativity, local relationships and a willingness to rethink established ways of operating can achieve,” explains Heidi Legein, chief executive guru at The MICE Guru.

The MICE Guru is a full-service incoming experiential agency, going beyond the traditional DMC role to combine creative concept development, immersive storytelling and complete event delivery. Known for our distinctive creative approach and high-quality execution of complex events, we bring ambitious ideas to life through detailed planning, strong local relationships and operational precision. The Asian Paints programme brought all of these strengths together," adds, Legein.

The programme

Approximately 750 people travelled in two waves, one week apart, using a cruise ship departing Copenhagen as their base. The MICE Guru created tailor-made events and experiences in port cities Bergen, Flåm/Voss and Ålesund, with a different theme in each destination.

We also convinced the client to disembark in Stavanger rather than return to Copenhagen, allowing us to create a fjord-centred final day and an immersive awards night in this fantastic destination.

We delivered the finale twice, with a week between the two editions.

The brief and creative approach

The expectation was to deliver something truly unique, beyond anything the delegates had experienced before, while working within the constraints of cruise travel.

This required us to rethink the usual processes for delivering MICE around port environments accustomed to cruise tourism. 

We took delegates beyond the typical visitor circuit, combining bespoke experiences with selected iconic stops, privately reserved time slots and an unexpected twist at every occasion.

The cruise provided the framework, but each destination needed to feel personal, exclusive and designed specifically for Asian Paints.

The Awards night was the highlight to celebrate the delegates' excellence in achievement.

The task here was to blend cultures and lifestyles into an eclectic mix.

A travelling culinary operation

The greatest operational challenge was supporting a team of 30 travelling chefs and creating the infrastructure they needed in every location.

We built temporary kitchens or expanded existing facilities with additional industrial and traditional cooking appliances, tents, and temporary infrastructure.

A wide variety of live cooking stations and fully designed, high-end buffets had to be delivered in some challenging settings, supported by extensive ingredient sourcing.

Behind the guest experience was a vast operation: setting up, dismantling and transporting equipment between cities by road while the delegates travelled by sea. Every location required its own culinary and logistical solution, coordinated around the ship’s schedule.

Stavanger and the Conqueror’s Gala

The final day began with private sailing on the iconic Lysefjord and a private lunch at Lysefjordsenteret, in the heart of the fjord. Carefully styled for the occasion, the fjordside setting created a spectacular introduction to the evening’s celebrations.

We hosted both the awards night and the final overnight stay at Clarion Air, with its event spaces transformed to bring the Viking-inspired concept to life.

The awards ceremonies drew on Viking sagas, blending local cultural storytelling with Asian Paints’ corporate messages, content and awards. Colour ran through the concept, connecting community endeavours, sport and entertainment with the spirit of Viking conquerors achieving outstanding results.

The foyer’s corporate product environment was transformed into a series of Viking photo settings with live actors. A percussion-led entrance brought guests into a hall filled with immersive entertainment. Among the evening’s most theatrical moments, the CEO descended from the roof into a Viking ship, followed by an opening battle on a catwalk connecting two stages.

The energy flow throughout the evening provided emotions and energy.

Stavanger gave us the setting and local collaboration to bring this story to life, with a sense of intimate exclusivity despite the scale of the programme. 

We managed the technical production with our local suppliers and brought the wider community into the experience.

The journey concluded with coordinated departures from Stavanger Airport, including additional airport support to help delegates move efficiently onto their flights.

Local involvement and responsible delivery

Local suppliers and community involvement were central to our approach. We also took practical steps to reduce food waste: our staff worked late into the night preparing hundreds of meals for donation from food remaining after the events.

For us, the work behind the scenes matters just as much as the spectacle guests see. We wanted the programme to make a positive contribution locally as well as deliver an exceptional experience for Asian Paints.

Advice for planners considering Stavanger

Look beyond the standard visitor programme and work closely with people who know the destination and its community inside out. Stavanger offers extraordinary possibilities for combining fjord landscapes, cultural storytelling and ambitious production with a genuine feeling of exclusivity.

We are proud to be able to open doors, involve local people and create experiences that show the destination in a different light.

Feedback from our collaborating agency

“To begin with, thank you for the fantastic execution of AP Group; all the venues, sightseeing options and arrangements were very well appreciated by the clients and for us as well. The execution was seamless along with your team. It gives us a lot of confidence to further engage and promote Norway as a destination,” said Rahul Shinde, senior general manager – MICE at Thomas Cook India.