For Lorelle Chittick, General Manager Events at Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA), the conversation around legacy and sustainability is certainly gaining visibility, but its role in the decision-making process is nuanced.
“There’s definitely a growing focus on legacy and sustainability in RFPs,” she explained during an interview with Boardroom at AIME a few weeks ago. “Associations often ask what initiatives a destination can support or facilitate. But at the bidding stage, it’s not always what makes or breaks the decision.”
In many cases, the responsibility still lies primarily with destinations and venues to propose initiatives that help associations embed meaningful outcomes into their events. At Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA), this means working closely with organisers to identify opportunities where their event can connect with local industry, research institutions and community initiatives to create lasting impact. The degree of emphasis placed on legacy also varies widely depending on the association’s sector. For some industries – particularly those linked to scientific research or social impact – legacy considerations are already deeply embedded in their mission. For others, operational delivery remains the priority.
Beyond the legacy conversation, Brisbane’s strategy focuses on aligning events with the city’s strongest industry sectors. Life sciences, bioenergy, agriculture and other innovation-driven fields play a central role in the destination’s bidding strategy.
“We work very closely with our universities and research institutes,” Chittick says. “The goal is to leverage the sectors where Brisbane has real expertise and build conferences around those strengths.”
Trailblazers in Brisbane
Local experts are essential to that effort. Brisbane relies on a strong community of academics, researchers and industry leaders who advocate for the city internationally and help bring conferences home.
To further strengthen that pipeline, BEDA runs the Lord Mayor’s Convention Trailblazer Grant, a travel scholarship designed to help Brisbane-based professionals attend international conferences in their field. Now in its seventh year, the programme funds several recipients annually, enabling them to build international networks while raising the profile of their research and institutions.
“We offer six grants per year for Brisbane-based researchers or professionals,” Chittick explains. “They attend a conference abroad, build their global profile, and then we work with them to try to bring that event back to Brisbane in the future.”
The initiative has already delivered tangible results. One of the early grant recipients helped secure the World Social Enterprise Forum, which Brisbane hosted in 2022. Beyond the event itself, the conference served as a catalyst to raise awareness of social enterprise nationally and support policy development around the sector.
These types of outcomes illustrate how conferences can extend far beyond their immediate economic impact. In some cases, the ripple effects are unexpected.
A striking example is the global success of the Australian animated children’s series Bluey, created, written and produced in Brisbane. The show was first pitched and picked up at the Asian Animation Summit conference, which BEDA secured for Brisbane in 2016, and has since become the most-streamed programme in the United States over the past two years. Its success has also led to the development of Bluey’s World – a one-of-a kind immersive tourism experience in the city, demonstrating how creative industries can also benefit from international exposure and collaboration linked to business events.
Mitigating risks
While legacy initiatives are gaining traction, associations today face another set of challenges: a volatile global environment that is influencing delegate behaviour and event planning.
“There’s definitely a level of financial caution at the moment,” Chittick notes. “Associations are seeing fluctuations in delegate participation depending on geopolitical factors or travel conditions.”
In response, destinations are increasingly expected to help mitigate risk. Brisbane approaches this through a coordinated funding ecosystem that combines city, state and national support mechanisms.
BEDA administers a city-level conference and accommodation fund in partnership with local hotels and the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Additional support can come from Tourism and Events Queensland at the state level and Tourism Australia federally, allowing the destination to assemble competitive bid packages for international associations.
This layered approach allows Brisbane not only to compete globally but also to offer reassurance to organisers navigating uncertain conditions.
Looking ahead, the city continues to build momentum with a series of upcoming international events aligned with its strategic industries. Among them are the Global AgInvesting Forum, reflecting Queensland’s strong agricultural sector, and the LNG World Congress scheduled for 2029, an important gathering for the global energy industry.