Sydney Harbour ©Ethan Rohloff – Destination NSW “There were things I intellectually understood before I joined BESydney – for example, that business events translate into tourism and economic activity,” she says. “But what I’ve really come to appreciate more is the broader role business events play, particularly for associations. They align industries with policy, universities, and research, and they create a platform for collaboration.”
That platform function has become central to Sydney’s positioning. In Lampe’s view, conferences are one of the few mechanisms capable of cutting across entrenched silos in both public and private sectors.
“We live in a very siloed world – both on the supply side and the demand side – and business events help break down those silos. They bring people together to exchange ideas, form relationships, and collaborate. That can lead to research, innovation, and even new investment into cities. That, to me, is the real beauty of business events.”
What’s new at ICC Sydney
The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) continues to evolve beyond its role as one of Australia’s premier business events venues, embracing innovation in both technology and sustainability.
In early 2026, ICC Sydney unveiled Connect Create, an in-house content production service designed to help clients craft compelling visual stories for their events. Backed by the venue’s audio-visual team, the service can produce 3D animation, motion graphics and tailored event content for ICC Sydney’s extensive LED and digital display networks, as well as short-form social clips and video assets to enhance audience engagement.
On the sustainability front, the venue’s Planet First initiative reflects a broader commitment to environmentally responsible event delivery. Launched as part of the 2026 Menu Collection, Planet First emphasises low-carbon, responsibly sourced dining options for delegates, reinforcing ICC Sydney’s efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of meetings held on its premises.
ICC Sydney’s strategic investments in experience, technology and sustainability have complemented its overall growth trajectory, but perhaps no recent event illustrates its capabilities as vividly as the 76thInternational Astronautical Congress (IAC). Held in September 2025, IAC brought more than 7,400 delegates from 99 countries together under one roof, marking it as the largest international meeting hosted at ICC Sydney since the pandemic. The venue’s teams were deeply involved from the bidding phase through to delivery, providing bespoke event management, technical and audio-visual support for more than 2,500 presentations across complex scientific tracks.
“Welcoming IAC to ICC Sydney was an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate the full breadth and scale of our venue’s capabilities, “said Adam Mather-Brown, Chief Executive Officer, ICC Sydney. “Following a successful bid led by BESydney, ICC Sydney, the Space Industry Association of Australia, the Australian Space Agency, and Investment NSW, the event transformed more than 35,000 square metres across our Exhibition and Convention Centres into a truly bespoke experience. From custom audiovisual integrations across every LED screen in the precinct, to seamless operational delivery for over 450 exhibitors and thousands of presentations, this collaboration reflects ICC Sydney’s unwavering commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and delivering events that inspire the next generation.”
Beyond the Physical Assets
Sydney’s assets provide the enabling conditions for that collaboration. ICC Sydney at Darling Harbour offers large-scale, centrally located infrastructure. The city’s metropolitan area hosts five major universities, several ranked among the global top 100, creating depth in research and sector expertise. If the hotel stock and visitor economy seem to be mature, new developments in Western Sydney – including the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport – also signal continued expansion.
Yet infrastructure alone is obviously insufficient. The next phase of competition between destinations hinges on making outcomes visible.
“Sydney already excels at opening doors to industry sectors and research institutions and linking them with associations and conferences,” Lampe notes.
“The next step is making the outcomes of business events more visible and measurable. That would strengthen our competitiveness and also help demonstrate value to government stakeholders.”
Government support at both state and national levels remains important, and Lampe acknowledges that New South Wales and federal authorities are already quite engaged. But in an environment increasingly focused on economic growth and productivity, she believes there is scope for deeper recognition of the returns generated by convening global knowledge communities.
“We also need to ensure we are not just talking to ourselves as an industry. We must communicate more broadly about what we bring to the city and the community,” she adds.
Broader Legacy Narrative
That broader narrative is particularly evident in the way Sydney approaches legacy. The International Astronautical Congress, which ICC Sydney recently welcomed, provides one example. Beyond hosting the technical programme, organisers worked with universities and the New South Wales education department to integrate space and STEM topics into school curricula, alongside a community day engaging children across age groups.
For Lampe, it was “one of the best examples of social impact” she had seen.
Similarly, hosting the Women’s Shelter Conference brought international attention to violence against women and children – issues that resonate far beyond the convention centre.
Such events reflect a wider shift in association behaviour. “In many cases, conferences want to leave a positive mark,” Lampe observes. “Delegates and organisers increasingly think about the impact they want to have on cities, countries, and even entire regions.”
Sustainability as an Ongoing Conversation
Sustainability forms part of that evolving expectation. Lampe describes it as “an ongoing conversation,”noting that venues and tourism operators are continually strengthening their environmental credentials.
For that matter, BESydney recently produced its first ESG report to measure and communicate its performance in that space. “Transparency is key,” Lampe emphasises, suggesting that formal reporting not only demonstrates accountability but may encourage others within the city to follow suit.
Yet sustainability, like legacy, is framed as collective rather than competitive. “Every city is working on this – it’s a collective, continued effort,” she adds, positioning Sydney within a global movement rather than as an isolated initiative.
In all this, measurement remains a structural difficulty. “Measuring long-term impact is challenging,” Lampe acknowledges. “Ideally, the industry would conduct longitudinal studies over 20 or 30 years, similar to health research, to truly understand outcomes. It’s ambitious, but valuable.”
Flexibility & Agility
Working with associations, Lampe observes that planners are reassessing financial exposure and attendance patterns.
“Associations are also looking more closely at financial risk-sharing with destinations and venues, as budgets are tighter and attendance numbers are less predictable,” she notes. “Flexibility and agility are therefore essential.”
Initiatives such as the Sydney Meeting Fund, although not new but definitely strengthened, help to offset the cost for smaller international meetings and business events.Technology and AI continue to reshape event formats, but Lampe remains convinced that the core rationale for in-person gatherings endures. Experiences matter, she suggests, particularly in a world saturated with digital communication.
In Lampe’s framing, the city’s advantage lies not simply in its harbour or skyline, but in its capacity to connect sectors that might otherwise remain separate.