Exhibition Showcase successfully hosted the 8th edition of India’s iconic – the Exhibition Excellence Awards & Summit on 21st June 2024 at the CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Centre in Navi Mumbai, marking the largest gathering of MICE industry in India this year. The key theme of the event was celebrating excellence, innovation, and impact in the event and exhibition industry. Attracting an unprecedented turnout of over 800 participants, the event brought together industry leaders, MICE professionals, corporate participants, trade bodies and association heads. This grand event brought together luminaries, industry leaders, and global stakeholders, highlighting its crucial role in shaping the future of the exhibitions industry.
Receiving over 500 nominations across various categories—including exhibition organizers, conference organizers, event venues, and event service providers, EEA 2024 showcased the crème de la crème in the industry. A highlight of the event was the live competitions arena, where more than 50 teams presented live on stage before a panel of judges. Each team got 3 minutes to share their best practices and this element acted as a valuable knowledge resource for the delegates. Additionally, the co-located India Event Expo featured over 63 distinct exhibitors who showcased their best of event offerings. Last but not the least the co-located conference sessions enriched the attendees with some great food for thought.
The event commenced with an explosive inauguration and ribbon cutting ceremony followed by the customary lamp lighting. Dr. Kailash Shinde (IAS) Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, inaugurated the ceremony amidst other dignitaries including Mr. Raghav Khosla (Group Editor, Exhibition Showcase), Mr. Ravi Boratkar, (Managing Director, MM Activ Sci Tech Communications), Mr. Sooraj Dhawan, (President, IEIA), Mr. Jatinder Kapoor (President, IESA), Ms. Anju Gomes (Regional director, Middle East, ICCA), Ms. Adeline (COO, UFI), Mr. Matthias Tesi Baur (MBB Consulting Group), Mr. Stephan Forseilles (CTO, Easyfairs), Ms. Debbie (GM, EW Bahrain) and Mr. Ravinder Sethi (VP, IEIA).
In the welcome remarks, Mr. Raghav Khosla (Group Editor, Exhibition Showcase) expressed gratitude for the esteemed jury members, partners, sponsors and exhibitors and welcomed the international ambassadors Ms. Adeline Vancauwelaert (Chief Operating Officer, UFI), Ms. Anju Gomes (Regional Director of Middle East, ICCA), Mr. Stephan Forseilles (CTO, Easyfairs) , Mr. Matthias Tesi Baur (Founder & Director, MBB Consulting), Dr. Debbie Standford-Kristiansen (General Manager, EW Bahrain) who have travelled all the way to EEA 2024 to witness the glory of our Indian Exhibition Industry. He further expressed, “Today the Indian exhibition industry is the hotbed to opportunities presenting robust growth to all the stakeholders, be it exhibition organisers, service providers and venues. From the ongoing trends of covering exhibitions all across the country, I can verily say that the industry is on an upswing and the confidence of corporate marketers in the power of exhibitions as a marketing platform is increasing with each passing day.
It is therefore critical that we acknowledge the outstanding achievements in our industry and therefore EEA is a supremely significant event for the industry. I am proud to share with you all that today EEA has transformed into a global phenomena and its stature reflects in the fact that EEA is supported by government bodies like Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Skilled Development and Entrepreneurship, NSIC, Service Export Promotion Council, and several renowned industry associations like IEIA, UFI, IAEE, IESA, AFECA, ICPB, NIMA, TAAI, and many more. Friends, EEA is not like any other award show. It is India’s iconic one and only recognition initiative for exhibition and convention industry and it is our earnest endeavor to promote and showcase the Indian exhibition industry on a global level. It is for this very reason that there are over 50 distinct award categories at EEA which have been curated with great efforts to acknowledge the excellence of industry stakeholders across a variety of parameters including size and scale of exhibition, value added, efforts towards sustainability, technology touch points, year on year growth and several others. We had a one and a half nomination window and we have received wonderful nomination and participation from all across the country. My heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed jury and our esteemed advisory partner MBB Consulting group and Mr. Matthias Tesi Baur for his support towards EEA 2024. With this I sincerely hope that EEA is able to recognize the unsung heroes of our industry and spread a message of joy and celebration amongst our fraternity.”
The first panel discussion titled “Understanding The Expectations of Associations & Corporate Participants,” was moderated by Sooraj Dhawan, President of the Indian Exhibition Industry Association. The panel included prominent figures such as Vishnu Bhimrajka from the All India Rubber Industries Association, Jayesh Khimji Rambhia, Chairman of PlastiVision India, Dr. Hitesh Bhatt, Director of the Retailers Association of India, Deepak Chawla, GM Marketing & Corporate Communications at TechNova Imaging System, and Namita Sharma, Corporate Communications & Business Management at ACE Technologies Group. The session revolved around understanding the perspective of associations with respect to exhibitions and events. The association heads expressed, how they plan to conduct their events in future and gave insights on how do they see the role of event management companies and venues etc. Panellists representing corporate sector shared that how do corporate exhibitors see the role of exhibitions in their marketing mix.
A key focus of this year’s EEA was also on sustainability that was highlighted in the dedicated panel discussion “RRR: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Sustainability in Events.” Moderated by Ravinder Sethi from RE Rogers India, the panel featured Anju Gomes, Regional Director Middle East at ICCA, Adeline Vancauwelaert, COO, UFI, Manuj Ralhan, GM, Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre & JECC, Dr. Debbie Standford-Kristiansen, GM, EW Bahrain, and Satyendra Mehra, Group Director at Nürnberg Messe India. The broad theme of this session included the significance of sustainability in event industry and why we need to make actionable priorities in this regard. Panellists discussed the international scenario as well as the developments in India.
Another significant panel discussion, titled “Future Outlook for India’s Exhibition Industry,” was moderated by Ravi Boratkar, MD of MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications. Panelists included Sanjeev Bolia, Founder of Afairs Exhibitions & Media Pvt. Ltd., Phil Chung, CEO of KINEXIN-ICC (Yashobhoomi), Milind Dixit, MD of Koelnmesse Pvt. Ltd., Nabjeet Ganguli, CMO at Informa Markets, Pradeep Padekar, CFO at Messe Muenchen India, and Vinay Mittal, MD, Deepali Design & Exhibits Pvt. Ltd. In this session, we will talk about how the Indian Exhibition Industry is poised to grow in the coming time, what are the latest trends, what are the challenges and opportunities ahead for the industry. The discussion revolved around how different stakeholders like organisers, venues, service providers are evolving with the changing pace of time and how subjects like AI, sustainability, skill development, mergers and acquisitions, government shows are going to impact the industry.
The event featured a keynote address by Stephan Forseilles, CTO of Easyfairs, who discussed the “Impact of AI in the Event Industry.”Additionally, a master class was conducted by Matthias Tesi Baur, Founder of MBB-Consulting Group, who shared insights on “The Changing Dynamics of Our Industry.”
Over 50 teams presented live before the panel of judges in the dedicated live competitions arena. The categories and presenting teams were:
For the Top MICE Infrastructure (Event Venues Segment) the presenting teams were:
IICC Yashobhoomi (Kinexin convention Management)
Bangalore International Exhibition Centre
CIDCO Exhibition & Convention Centre
For the Excellence in Sustainability (Event Venues Segment) the presenting teams were:
CIDCO Exhibition & Convention Centre
Clarks Exotica – Convention Resort & Spa
For India’s Leading MICE Venue (Event Venues Segment), the presenting teams were:
IICC Yashobhoomi (Kinexin convention Management)
Bangalore International Exhibition Centre
Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre and Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre
India Exposition Mart Limited
For the Excellence in Services (Service provider segment), the presenting teams were:
Knight Gourmet
Seasons Catering
Sanjeevani Advertising
For Excellence in stall fabrication (Service provider segment), the presenting teams were:
STRIDES DESIGN STUDIO PVT LTD
7 Sigma Events and Experiences
JMD DESIGN DESK PVT LTD
Target A&M
For Excellence in sustainability (Service provider segment), the presenting teams were:
M-Stand, a Vertical of MaliDesarc Pvt. Ltd.
Sardana Exhicon Services
XS Productions India private limited
Deepali Designs and Exhibits Pvt. Ltd
For Excellence in technology (Service provider segment), the presenting teams were:
The LIT App (Memorylane Digital LLP)
Exhime
VeeSpaces
For India’s Unique Show (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
ACREX India (Informa markets)
ProWine Mumbai (Messe Dusseldorf India Pvt. Ltd)
KhadhyaKhurak (Khimashia Associates)
For Top Industry Impact Show (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
HIFF TRADE & EVENTS PVT. LTD
India Ceramic Asia Expo (MesseMuenchen India)
IMTEX FORMING 2024 (Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association)
For Excellence in Sustainability (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
CPHI & PMEC India (Informa markets)
India Art Fair (Angus Montgomery Art India Pvt. Ltd)
Fashionista Group of Exhibitions
Wildlife Tourism Conclave & Awards 2024 (DTORR)
For Excellence in International Shows (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
Radeecal Communications
Afairs Exhibitions & Media Pvt. Ltd.
EEPC INDIA
For Top multi-city show (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
Gifts World Expo (MEX EXHIBITIONS PVT LTD)
Afairs Exhibitions & Media Pvt. Ltd.
Franchise India
For Top exhibition of the year (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
Paperex (Hyve India Pvt Ltd)
Electronica India and productronica India Expo – 2023 (MesseMuenchen India)
CII – Excon
For Star in industry promotion (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
Cable & Wire Fair (Tulip 3P Media Private Limited)
Indusfood Expo (Trade Promotion Council of India)
MATECIA 2024 (BigseaMarcom India Pvt Ltd)
India Mobile Congress
For Star in participants engagement (Exhibition Organiser Segment), the presenting teams were:
Gifts World Expo (MEX EXHIBITIONS PVT LTD)
Instore Asia (Messe Dusseldorf India Pvt. Ltd)
ACREX India (Informa markets)
Anuga FoodTec India 2023 (Koelnmesse Pvt Ltd)
The Exhibition Excellence Awards is a sincere initiative to recognise the unsung heroes of the Indian exhibition industry and to acknowledge their contribution on a global level. Over the years, EEA has emerged as a beacon of excellence, supported by government bodies and renowned industry associations, including UFI, ICCA, IAEE, IAEE, IESA and AFECA, among others. It is continuing to set high standards, acknowledging the best in the industry and promote innovation within the sector.
Click here to know the winners at EEA : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ka2YlWSqqBsvXJeCY_cHSoc76arxjFxW/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=100124900210819103737&rtpof=true&sd=true
