It was a glittering night at The M&IT Awards 2023, with
more than 850 event professionals in attendance at Battersea Evolution to
celebrate the great and good of the industry.
With more than 20 gold awards handed out on the sector’s biggest
and most glamorous awards night of the year, it was an emotional entertainment extravaganza.
The evening kicked off with a barnstorming Moulin Rouge
dance set, before host Russell Kane took to the stage to deliver a witty,
laugh-filled performance that set the tone for a wonderful evening.
M&IT
editor Paul Harvey welcomed eventprofs to the awards, before Meeting Needs
chair Chris Parnham introduced Emmerdale and Coronation Street actress
Gemma Oaten, who made a powerful and personal appeal on behalf of charity SEED on
the importance of better eating disorder awareness.
The first award of the night saw Conference Care MD Andrew
Deakin hand out the newly-minted Chris Peacock Rising Star of The Year Award,
named in honour of Conference Care founder Chris Peacock, who died from bowel
cancer in June. In an emotional address, Deakin paid tribute to his friend and business
partner, before announcing Noble Events’ Rosie Warner as the inaugural winner
of the award and “a true eventprof superstar in the making”.
In the main awards, Glasgow Convention Bureau picked up the
Best UK Convention Bureau gong for an incredible 17th year running, while
Conference Care once again took home the Best Intermediary Agency Large (40+
employees)
One of the new awards for 2023, Best UK Representation
Company, went to Destinations Unlimited, while Event Cycle took home the
Best Positive Impact/Event Legacy Award.
After dinner, Events R Talented winner Reina Villanueva, global
marketing director at Transformative Media, wowed the crowd with a stunning
performance of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You, before Shane Lewis-Riley and Luke Day from Virgin
Voyagers had the audience going wild as they handed out champagne.
Robert Kenward of YOU search & select won the final award of the night,
the Personality of the Year award, earning a standing ovation. Presenting the
award, ICCA president and ExCeL London executive director James Rees praised
Kenward’s efforts helping event professionals
facing redundancy or career change decisions, as well as his work on the REACH
scholarship and constant campaigning on recruitment practices, citing his “unyielding
efforts across the board, whether it be recruitment, diversity and inclusion,
or furthering the eventprof cause”.
The night saw industry charity Meeting Needs raise more than
£15,000 with a table raffle, before eventprofs danced the night away into the
early hours and enjoy networking and catching up with colleagues and peers.
M&IT editor Paul Harvey said: "What a night! The
M&IT Awards hold a special place in the meetings and events calendar
because the winners represent the best of our industry, chosen by the industry
– it’s the voice of the industry. It was such a thrill to see so many
eventprofs come together to celebrate the best our sector has to
offer.
“It’s been another whirlwind year for eventprofs, and despite
the many challenges, it’s clear that a strong appetite for in-person events
remains - and it’s here that event professionals have again stepped up to the
plate. Making events happen is what we do, and we do it damn well; that’s what
we celebrate at the M&IT Awards.
"It was such an enjoyable evening, thanks so much to Russell
Kane for stepping in at the last minute and doing such an impeccable job of
hosting the night. Congratulations to all our winners and finalists, huge
thanks to all our sponsors, and thank you to everyone that attended for making
it such a special night. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!"
The winners of the M&IT Awards 2022 were:
The Chris Peacock Rising Star of the Year
Winner - Rosie Warner, Noble Events
Runner up - Isabel
Bedford-Payne, Principal Global Events
Best UK Representation Company
Gold - Destinations Unlimited
Silver - DMC Advantage
Silver - Amplified Hotels
Bronze - Vine Tree Connections
Best Destination Management Company
Gold - Vista Events
DMC Greece
Silver - Factor 3 Events
Bronze - Cititravel
DMC Spain & Portugal
Best Overseas Convention Bureau
Gold - Visit Monaco Convention Bureau
Silver - Vienna Convention Bureau
Silver - Visit Norway
Bronze - Meet In Ireland
Bronze - Wonderful
Copenhagen
Best UK Convention Bureau
Gold - Glasgow Convention Bureau
Silver - Liverpool Convention Bureau
Bronze - London Convention Bureau
Best Event Provider
Gold - veSpace
Silver - Quadrant Events
Bronze - Chameleon Live Events
Bronze - Shocklogic
Best Intermediary Agency Small (up to 20 employees)
Gold - Falkenberg & Florence
Silver - Conference Solutions
Bronze - ZiaBia Events Consultancy
Best Intermediary Agency Mid-size (21-40 employees)
Gold - Principal. Global Events
Silver - YES Your Event Solutions
Bronze - Outsourced Events
Best Intermediary Agency Large (40+ employees)
Gold - Conference Care
Silver - veSpace
Bronze - Agiito
Bronze - Inntel
Best Positive Impact/Event Legacy Award
Gold - Event Cycle
Silver - ICC Wales
Bronze - British Society of Soil Science
Best Sustainable Initiative
Gold - British Society of Soil Science
Silver - Hilton London Metropole
Bronze - The Venues Collection
Best Diversity and Inclusion Award
Gold - REACH Scholarship
Silver - Eventwell
Bronze - KERB
Best Technology Provider
Gold - Quadrant Events
Silver - RefTech
Bronze - Cvent
Bronze - Shocklogic
Best Airline
Gold - British
Airways
Silver - Emirates
Bronze - Virgin Atlantic
Best Overseas Conference Centre
Gold - The Convention Centre Dublin
Silver - Grimaldi Forum Monaco
Bronze - PortAventura Convention Centre
Best Overseas Hotel
Gold - Sandals Grande St. Lucian
Silver - Onyria
Quinta da Marinha Hotel
Bronze - Four Seasons San Domenico Palace
Best Hotel Brand
Gold - Hilton
Silver -Meliá Hotels International
Bronze - Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Best UK Unusual Venue
Gold - Alton Towers Resort
Silver - Butlin's Conference & Events
Bronze - Center Parcs Conferences & Events
Best UK Conference Centre
Gold - Imago Venues - Burleigh Court
Silver - ICC Wales
Bronze - Scottish Event Campus (SEC)
Best UK Hotel
Gold - Celtic Manor Resort
Silver - Carden Park Hotel
Bronze - Park Regis Birmingham
Personality of the Year
Winner - Robert Kenward, YOU search & select
Runner Up - Gabby Austen-Browne, Diversity Alliance
