MCEC Awarded Best Business Event Venue for the Second Year in a Row
By Maddi Devoy|
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) took home Gold for the Business Event Venue Award for the second year running, as well as the Bronze for Lord Mayor’s Award at the prestigious VTIC Victorian Tourism Awards last night.
The Victorian Business Event Venue Award recognises venues that provide the highest quality facilities, services and events, and the important contribution of business events in Australia’s tourism landscape.
Chief Executive Natalie O’Brien AM was proud to accept the award for the second year in a row, confirming MCEC’s industry-leading reputation.
“MCEC welcomes millions of visitors from around the world every year, boosting the economy and supporting the growth of local businesses.”
“We pride ourselves on providing world-class services and facilities, and everyone who visits leaves inspired and excited.”
“We’re honoured to accept the award and to be recognised amongst such a high calibre of finalists.”
The award recognised MCEC’s progressive innovations including the newly launched website, which features 360-degree virtual tours, allowing customers and visitors alike to explore the venue and plan their visit, no matter where they’re located.
MCEC also hosted a number of high-profile events during the year.
At the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, nine world leaders and prominent CEOs, community leaders and academics gathered to discuss trade, climate action, maritime cooperation, and the cultivation of emerging leadership. MCEC delivered innovative solutions, robust safety measures and a high level of service to meet the expectations of the high-profile attendees. During the conference, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced comprehensive new initiatives worth over $500 million, aimed at deepening economic, cultural, educational and environmental ties with Southeast Asia, showcasing MCEC’s impact beyond the events we host.
MCEC was also the only venue in the Asia-Pacific region to host to the renowned BBC Earth Experience, an audio-visual journey with bespoke narration from Sir David Attenborough. Direct from the London premiere, the experience drew a crowd of over 500,000 people over six months.
The Lord Mayor’s Award recognises businesses in metropolitan Melbourne that have demonstrated a commitment to responsible tourism.
During the year, MCEC became the first convention centre in Australia to introduce a permanent Returnable Cup program, serving over 894,000 delegates with reusable stainless-steel cups.
MCEC launched its latest Accessibility Action Plan, in collaboration with consultants in the tourism industry and people with lived experience, as well as facilitating work placements for four people with disabilities through our partnership with Alkira.
Recognising that many event organisers share our commitments towards environmental, social and economic impact, MCEC also developed a Positive Impact Guide, to help our customers infuse corporate social responsibility into events held at the venue. The online toolkit provides customers resources to reduce the environmental footprint of their events, honour and engage Traditional Owners, make their events more accessible and inclusive, as well as elevating delegate experiences through our community partnerships.
Ms O’Brien congratulated the entire MCEC team on the achievements.
“The awards recognise everyone’s commitment to providing high levels of customer service, attention to detail, continuous improvement and delivering memorable events each and every day.”