The Sweets & Snacks Expo will be rotating between Indianapolis and Las Vegas over the next ten years. This was announced by organiser National Confectioners Association (NCA) as the show convenes to celebrate 25 years of candy and snack innovation. Beginning in 2024, the Sweets & Snacks Expo will cycle through a rotation of two years at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, followed by one year at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas until 2032. In May, McCormick Place in Chicago will host the 2022 and 2023 Sweets and Snacks Expos. "Indianapolis and Las Vegas are the right fit to meet the growing demand for our show and enable it to continue providing the innovation, insights and connections that the candy and snacks industries want and need", said John Downs, NCA president & CEO. "This decision is all about the show's future, and it was driven by our exhibitor and attendee community." The decision to relocate the Sweets & Snacks Expo to Indianapolis and Las Vegas was made after careful deliberation by the Sweets & Snacks Expo Committee, which is chaired by Ferrero/Fannie May Confections vice president of sales and business development Ed Seibolt, and the NCA Board of Trustees. In 2021, the show relocated to Indianapolis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (kf) 
sweetsandsnacks.com/sweets-snacks-expo-announces-new-show-locations-for-2024-and-beyond

The partnership between Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) and Koelnmesse is taking shape: The premiere of SIGEP China – Southern China International Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and Coffee Trade Show – is scheduled to take place from April 19 to 21, 2023 in the World Exhibition & Convention Centre in Shenzhen concurrently with ANUFOOD China – powered by Anuga. At the start of 2022, the two exhibition companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the common market expansion of the two formats SIGEP and Anuga. Further locations in regions exhibiting increased market potential will follow. "With this agreement, SIGEP, which is one of our flagship events, will strengthen its mission as the standard-bearer of Made in Italy food products in the world", said Corrado Peraboni, CEO of IEG "starting, together with Koelnmesse, from China, which is the main foreign market outlet for Italian exports". "Only a few weeks after signing the global strategic partnership with IEG, we are now very pleased to further expand our cooperation with SIGEP in China. This enables us to offer our Chinese customers a wide range of services on the spot and to intensify our contact with them, even in times of COVID-related entry restrictions to Europe", explains president and CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH Gerald Böse. (kf) 
en.sigep.it/sigep-china-first-appointment-with-koelnmesse-in-shenzhen-2023.n20110501.html

UFI members in more than a dozen cities across Asia have taken the lead in organising local gatherings! Exciting, fun gatherings are happening across the region: networking and cocktails in Tokyo, a food donation drive in Kuala Lumpur, a networking lunch in Lahore, an afternoon of food and music in Seoul, a waterfront walk in Singapore and more! Check them all out here.
 
Be sure to support your local exhibition industry by participating in an event near you.
Click here to join. (ufi)

Licensing-X Germany is the name of the new platform that Spielwarenmesse, the international toy fair, and Licensing International are launching in Nuremberg. The German-speaking countries therefore now have their own licensing event. Licensing-X Germany will be staged concurrently with Insights-X from October 5 to 7, 2022 in the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre. The exhibition for paper, office and stationery will also be organised by Spielwarenmesse. "With Licensing-X Germany, we are expanding our portfolio in a strongly growing market, which is very familiar to us and operates across industries", says Spielwarenmesse board spokesman Christian Ulrich about the latest new event. Licensing International was founded in 1985 and has been actively represented in Germany with the Licensing Market event since 2001. "Our shared aim is to be the leading platform for the license business in the German-speaking countries", Peter Hollo stresses, who is responsible for the activities of Licensing International in Germany. Licensing-X Germany will build on the success of Licensing Market and offer new programme and networking possibilities across all categories for the entire licensing sector. The focus will also be put on new trends on the market, such as streaming services and NFTs, and new horizons opened up with attractive business opportunities. (ch)
licensinginternational.org

The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) reports that it has over 100 confirmed bookings for 2022 as of mid-March. The venue expects that the number will increase over the next few months as the team engages with domestic and international event organisers to bring their events to Cape Town and the CTICC. "It is exciting to see the increase in confidence and bookings from the domestic and international events markets alike. As we venture towards recovery, we continue to work with our clients to support them with competitive rates and flexible contracts", said Ms. Taubie Motlhabane, CEO of the CTICC. Some of the events hosted at the CTICC over the past few weeks include, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Solar Power Africa, and our own trade and consumer show, the Ultimate Beverage Show. Although the increase in bookings and enquiries shows that people want to return to face-to-face events, there is still a level of cautiousness from both organisers and delegates. The CTICC has taken several health and safety measures, including mandatory vaccinations of all staff, establishing an app for Covid-19 screening that all staff and visitors must complete, and the development of a venue capacity management tool that ensures the best capacity management. (kf)
www.cticc.co.za/cticc-welcomes-over-100-events-as-in-person-gatherings-take-centre-stage

The exhibition industry is providing humanitarian aid to those impacted by the war in Ukraine on a broad basis. To directly support exhibition professionals in Ukraine, Sandy Angus, Montgomery and UFI President 2001 to 2003, has made an appeal: "Every UFI member will have been appalled by what is happening in Ukraine and tried to find ways of helping to ease the pain and suffering which ordinary civilians are going through. However, there is one way in which UFI can demonstrate support for UFI friends and continue the family feeling which has always been so strong in our organisation. I am suggesting we make donations to our Ukrainian colleagues. At Montgomery, we would be prepared to start such a fund with a $10,000 donation and would ask other members to consider any amount with which they feel comfortable. The actual individual contributions can remain anonymous if members are more comfortable with that. However, much is raised will give hope and confidence to our Ukrainian friends that they are not alone. Their courage and determination continue to be an inspiration to all of us who look on in horror and disbelief that their lives could be so mercilessly destroyed." Following up on this appeal, UFI has been in touch with members in Ukraine, to identify an approach that allows the UFI community to act on Sandy Angus' call. Please follow this link if you want to donate: crisisrelief.un.org/exh-ind-ukraine
Additionally, UFI has set up an ad hoc working group of members venues who are operating as special refugee centres, which so far includes 18 venues in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. The group is sharing best practices and experiences  and is already directly working together to support each other. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact nick@ufi.org.

Last chance to apply for the UFI 2022 NGL Grant!
Time is running out to apply for the 2022 UFI Next Generation Leadership (NGL) Grant.
The UFI NGL Grant promotes next-generation leadership in the exhibition industry — rewarding professionals who show clear initiatives in driving change and innovation in their area of activity.
The NGL programme is one of the most prestigious talent accelerator programmes in the industry. We encourage people from all backgrounds and roles within the exhibition industry to apply. (ufi)
 
Find out more about the programme and benefits: www.ufi.org/ngl

The global IFES family has been united in an outpouring of support for those suffering as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Individual member-driven initiatives have been collecting funds and pooling resources to deliver much needed supplies to those affected, and to transport and house people displaced by the conflict. Torsten Heinz of managing director at Czarnowski, Germany has been collecting ready foods, baby food, water, single-use bed linen, blankets, sleeping bags, camp beds, and basic medicines at the Czarnowski warehouse in Hilden for delivery to Przemyl at the Polish-Ukrainian border. Eric Grossmann, owner of Z3 Live Communication in Switzerland connected this initiative with Sarah-Johanna Hamera, also of Z3 Live Communication who is co-ordinating assistance and storage facilities on the ground in Przemyl. She has been able to advise first-hand on day-to-day requirements. At the same time, Sebastian Bernat, CEO of Sound and Lights Service in Poland has been putting his company vehicles to good use, bringing refugees from the border and assisting families with accommodation in temporary hostels, hotels, and with private families able to host. Each of his vehicles is driving around 1400 km a day, so IFES members have been contributing round trips and fuel donations to assist with this initiative. Lucasz Jerzmanowski, chairman at Smart Design Expo in Poland, is transporting displaced mothers and children from the border and buying food and clothes – and more activities are taking place. A vast IFES help network stretches from Asia-Pacific to Africa, Canada, Middle East, the US and across Europe, where members are rallying to support those in the thick of the action, either financially or in person, the association reports. "Of course, we are a collection of planners and project managers by trade, so co-ordination of effort is something that comes naturally, but this absolute generosity of spirit is something one does not often encounter. We celebrate this trait of the IFES community and salute the efforts that are being made by selfless people around the world to assist in this time of crisis", says IFES president Justin Hawes. (kf)
www.ifesnet.com/ifes-members-form-a-help-network-for-ukraine

The Exhibition Think Tank is tackling a pressing question in a panel discussion: "How to bring my event business back?" The speakers will discuss and share with the audience their experience and best practice cases, with Maria Valcarce, presenting FITUR case (held successfully twice in last 2 years in spite of Covid 19 issues), Francesco Santa, talking about IEG projects running successfully in Vicenza and Dubai, and Garcia Newell sharing DSV activities and services for the events across Europe/the globe. The virtual session will take place on March 30, 2022 from 14:00 to 15:00 hrs UK time, will be hosted by the ETT sub-group "Event Thinkers" and will be free to attend. (kf)
www.exhibitionthinktank.com/events/panel-discussion-how-to-bring-my-event-business-back