With an increasing focus on legacy and impact in the
events industry, how can event organisers ensure they work with the most
transformational host destination? Here we look at how the city of Brisbane is focusing
on its centres of excellence to promote engagement and positive outcomes
“Brisbane has established a significant advantage in
the highly competitive business events marketplace,” says Lorelle Chittick,
General Manager of Tourism, Business and Major Events at Brisbane Economic
Development Agency (BEDA). “And the line-up of conferences to be hosted here
this year and next are testimony to how the city’s innovative sector-led
approach is producing impressive outcomes.”
Capitalising on Brisbane’s industry strengths and local
connections has helped the city attract prestigious business events, which in
turn benefit from the considerable local expertise in academia, research
centres, industry and the public and private sectors.
Queensland’s vibrant capital
Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia,
is a multicultural city of 2.7 million people boasting an innovation-led
economy. It is a showcase of large-scale investment, robust and emerging industries
and new developments.
Host city for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,
the city is preparing to welcome the world’s largest sporting event.
A compact walkable city with a sub-tropical climate
and relaxed outdoor lifestyle, it is popular with event attendees. A
sophisticated event infrastructure includes excellent convention centres,
meeting venues and international hotels, and it is well-connected. Currently
served by 32 international destinations across Asia, the Middle East and North
America, Brisbane also has the most extensive domestic network in Australia.
Acknowledged as a global scientific hub, Brisbane’s
range of industry sectors includes agriculture and food manufacturing, medtech
and healthcare, energy and resources and environmental sciences. This sector
expertise is ideal for collaborative business events.
Agriculture
and food
The
University of Queensland (UQ), recognised by the Australian Financial Review as
Australia’s number one university, is at the forefront of agricultural research,
driving advancements in the field.
Brisbane also serves as a hub for corporate and innovative businesses in
the agricultural sector, with global organisations like AgTrade, a livestock,
genetics and food security group, headquartered here. The city is home to start-ups such as Agbot, MaxSil and Qponics, which are
pioneering new technologies in agriculture and soil nutrient solutions, making
Brisbane a key centre for both research and innovation in the agricultural
industry.
Brisbane’s
Lockyer Valley, known as ‘Australia’s Salad Bowl’, is one of the most fertile
farming areas in the world and encompasses approximately 2,200 sqkm.
Eighty
per cent of Queensland land is used for agricultural production while beef
cattle represent Queensland’s largest agricultural export.
In May 2025, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition
Centre (BCEC) will host the quadrennial World Angus Forum, bringing together
Angus cattle breeders, enthusiasts and industry professionals from around the
world.
Scott
Wright, CEO of Angus Australia, says: “The vibrancy of Brisbane, a focus on agribusiness innovation and
location as a jumping off point for the World Forum post-tour of the Queensland
Cattle Industry make it ideal for the two-day meeting component of the Forum to
be staged in Brisbane,” he said. “In addition to the Queensland farm
visits, part of the official pre and post forum programme, Brisbane offers
direct access to some of Australia’s top tourist attractions, whilst the city
itself has a stunning riverfront location, offering a range of recreational
activities and a world-class dining and entertainment scene.”
Another
business event highlighting agricultural innovation will be AgriFutures
evokeAG to be staged at the BCEC in February 2025. Around 1,800
delegates from the agrifood tech and innovation community are expected to share
ideas, showcase technology and future insights.
Says AgriFutures
Australia Managing Director John Harvey: "Queensland is fast gaining a
reputation as the home of an expanding number of innovators who are creating
cutting-edge technologies to transform the agricultural landscape. This
combined with its breadth of agricultural, forestry and fishery industries make
Brisbane the perfect place to host the next edition of AgriFutures in
February.”
Energy &
resources
Brisbane
has an outstanding reputation as a global energy and resources sector hub, with
the Queensland Government planning to invest more than AUD $62 billion in the
future energy transition process.
Mining
is Queensland’s largest industry and valued at A$86.5 billion. The state has an
abundance of mineral resources including cobalt, vanadium, titanium, graphite
and rare earth elements crucial for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, aerospace
alloys, steel production, energy storage solutions and a range of other
applications necessary for the global energy transition.
Key institutes are based at The Queensland Centre for
Advanced Technologies including the Gas Industry Social and Environmental
Research Alliance and the Minerals Resources Group. Both are operated by
Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO), responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial
applications.
The
UQ is home to the Energy Transition Network and the Gas & Energy Transition
Research Centre, exploring energy transition. It is also home to the
Sustainable Minerals Institute, addressing global sustainability challenges
through the responsible supply of mineral resources.
In addition to extensive research facilities, Brisbane
is also noted as a centre for excellence in the mining
equipment, technology and services (METS) sector and boasts the largest
METS cluster in the world.
Australia’s quantum computing
powerhouse, Brisbane hosts two of Australia’s four Quantum Centres of
Excellence, with the sector expected to grow to a potential AUD $2.2 billion by
2030. The world’s first commercial-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer is to
be built in Brisbane by PsiQuantum, a leading US-based frontier technology
company, which plans to establish its Asia Pacific headquarters in the city.
Brisbane's
close proximity to the Asia Pacific region and extensive aviation networks have
encouraged many major energy and resources companies to establish their
headquarters in the city. The strength of global leaders, cutting-edge
innovation in energy and resources research and development, strong base of
local attendees and sponsorship opportunities present a powerful proposition
for the city to attract key international events.
In June 2023,
Brisbane hosted the 26th World Mining Congress (WMC) attended by 3,500 global
participants. Other energy and
resources sector events staged in Brisbane include the 8th International
Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering (2024), the Critical Minerals
Conference (2024) and the Energy Networks Conference & Exhibition (2022).
With
a focus on decarbonisation and creating a landscape of opportunity for
businesses in the clean energy transition, events held in Brisbane benefit from
innovative technical tours, leading guest speakers and the attraction of new
investment opportunities.
Medtech
& health
Brisbane is
fast becoming an economic and innovation powerhouse in the fields of medical
technology and health. Recent innovations range from needle-free vaccine
delivery to orthopaedic robotics and ultrasound technology to tackle
Alzheimer’s disease.
Building on
this momentum, the MedTech Global Accelerator, a partnership between Brisbane
Economic Development Agency and US-based Life Science Nation, is advancing ten
local ventures, helping them secure global funding, partnerships and market
pathways.
An
interconnected knowledge corridor spans five kilometres through the city, which
is home to more than 100 health and biotech facilities, including the
Translational Research Institute (TRI), a state-of-the-art facility for
biopharmaceuticals and treatments. Queensland’s biomedical sector supports more
than 12,400 jobs, adding AUD$2.1bn annually to the state economy. Alongside UQ,
there are medical institutes and hospitals, forming one of the largest health
and hospital clusters in the Southern Hemisphere.
“The city is
attracting the best and brightest research talent from around the world and our
local academic powerhouses create a pipeline of talent for our workforce. The
tremendous lifestyle and climate is also a big drawcard for biotech experts
from around the world – which is contributing to us building our team here in
Brisbane,” says David Hoey, CEO, Vaxxas.
Vaxxas has
developed an innovative needle-free technology and forged collaborations
with leading global organisations including Merck/MSD, the United States
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Several major
health business events will take place in Brisbane this year including the
International Conference on Microneedles 2025 (ICM 2025), a large conference in
the area of microarray patch technology. “When Vaxxas began in 2011, there was
very little recognition of microarray patch technology globally and its potentially
transformative benefits,” says Vaxxas CEO David Hoey. “Now we have dedicated conferences
on the topic. It is an honour and a privilege to be part of creating this
awareness, and industry, here in Brisbane.”
Environmental
science
Brisbane is proud of its world-class
science research facilities and its implementation of innovative environmental
policies, putting science into action. The city’s proximity to unique
ecosystems such as Moreton Bay, tropical rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef
have attracted many significant international business events in the field of
environmental science.
The
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC says: “As a leading educational
and research institution, UQ will play an important role in shaping the legacy
of our city for 2032 and beyond. Our partnership with BEDA creates
opportunities to strengthen Brisbane’s industrial base and collaborate to
attract conferences, industry events and policy roundtables that reflect our
city’s strengths and expertise.
“As a
world Top 50 institution and number one nationally for environmental science,
the ecological and environmental research carried out at UQ has had a direct
impact on policy and practice in Australia and internationally. Conferences
such as the 12th International Conference on Environment Pollution and
Prevention in late 2024 provide an opportunity to share that expertise, as well
as Queensland’s natural beauty, with the world.”
In 2025 the International Congress for Conservation
Biology will be hosted in Brisbane. Considered to be the premier global meeting
for conservation scientists and professionals, it expects to attract 1,500
delegates from around the world in June. The
successful BCEC-led bid was well supported by Australia’s scientific community,
with assistance provided by BCEC Convention Advocate Professor Hugh Possingham,
the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research
Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at UQ and former Queensland Chief Scientist. Additional support for the bid was provided by Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia
and Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA).
And
Brisbane is walking the talk with its implementation of environmental policies.
The award-winning Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has a
strategic commitment to sustainability including the highly coveted EarthCheck
Platinum Certification, which recognises the many ways in which the Centre
operates at the highest possible international environmental standards. BCEC is
located in the heart of the city’s waterfront South Bank precinct, offering 17-hectares
of parkland, thousands of hotel rooms, Australia’s only inner-city beach,
world-class galleries, theatres, entertainment and dining.
Brisbane’s integrated support for business events
Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) is driving
the sustainable economic growth of Brisbane. The city's official convention
bureau, it provides support and assistance to planners of business events.
“The BEDA Business Events Team’s in-depth local
knowledge of Brisbane and our close partnerships with hotels, the convention
centres, meeting venues and service providers enable us to provide holistic
support for planners, from early stages through to event completion,” says
Chittick. “We believe our network of business leaders, industry, academia and
government, as well as our capacity to work hand-in-hand with other BEDA
business units of relevance, such as Investment Attraction, Tourism, Major
Events and Industry Engagement, can make an invaluable contribution to the
success of a business event hosted in our beautiful city.”
Connect with BEDA to
find out more about the city’s industry sectors and business events and start
planning your next event here.
