TheWorldAccording to IMEX PLENARY

IMEX Q International TelecomsWeek Q Beard andMoustache Championships CONVENE ON SITE M

ASSIVE. THAT WAS MY FIRST IMPRES- sion of Messe Frankfurt’s exhibit hall, filled with international destinations

and meetings-industry suppliers for the ninth IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, and events, held May 23–26. Several exhibitors’ stands not only occupied significant square footage but also rose up a second level. By all accounts, IMEX 2011 was a success.

At the closing press conference, IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom ticked off some impres- sive stats: There were more than 9,000 attend- ees, of whom nearly 3,900 were European and “long-haul” hosted buyers; 57,000-plus appoint- ments were made between buyers and exhibi- tors; and more than 90 different educational sessions were offered. Bloom also pointed to the success of initiatives such as the Politicians

Forum, held on May 24, where 25 politicians from 16 destinations in Europe and throughout the world met to discuss the business value of meetings and conventions with industry suppli- ers and association executives. Over the course of IMEX, several PCMA-

supported initiatives were announced, including the launch of a new award — the PCMA Global Meetings Executive of the Year Award — which will be presented at next year’s IMEX Gala Dinner. In addition,Meetings Mindset founder Jonathan Bradshaw held a press conference during the show to launch the Meetology Research Institute. Sponsored in part by the PCMA Education Foundation, Meetology is a tweet-based website that aggregates research in seven subject areas — brain, body, mind, environment, social, tech, and “weird and wonderful” — that is relevant to the meetings industry. We’ll be spotlighting some of that research in Plenary; for our first Meetology item, see p. 18. n — Michelle Russell

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.imex-frankfurt.com

 GROUP SHOT Solution Model

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMSWEEK:

ITW 2011 kicked off with an opening reception at the Marriott Wardman

Park in Washington, D.C., on May 22. Sponsored by

Vodafone, the party featured models of iconic monuments

from cities where the company has offices

A TASTE OF OTHER CULTURES: Attendees walked the IMEX exhibit-hall floor while simultaneously traveling around the world.

THERE’S A MEETING FOR THAT? A Not-So-Close Shave

WORLD BEARD AND MOUSTACHE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Facially empowered men from around the world descended on Trondheim, Norway, on May 14–17 for the 2011 World Beard and Moustache Championships, hosted by the Norwegian Moustache Club of 91. Awarding medals for mustaches, partial beards, and full beards in 17 different categories, the com- petiton included a parade (1) that spotlighted such styles as “sideburns freestyle” (2) and “English moustache” and “Verdi” (3). Beard Team USA was captained by full-bearded Phil Olsen (4). For more information, visit www.worldbeardchampionships.com.

16 pcma convene September 2011 www.pcma.org 1

— including Mumbai’s Gateway of India —

designed and built by event producer Hargrove.



PHOTOS BY GREGORY FETT (1, 2, 4) AND JEFFREY MOUSTACHE (3)