As ABPCO (the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers) enters its 25^th anniversary this year, the Association reflects on how life within the meetings industry has changed over the last quarter of a century:

1987-1991

• 1987 – ABPCO is incorporated, the Apple Mac computer is launched, badge production and data capture (via embossed plastic cards) for the trade show industry are invented
• 1989 – Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web
• 1990 – Meeting Industry Association (MIA) is founded
• 1991 – National Indoor Arena (part of the NEC) opens its doors

1992-1996

• 1994 – two Stanford students create “Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web” which was soon renamed Yahoo
• 1995 – Holiday Inn provide the first hotel website with the option of booking rooms online

1997-2001

• 2000 -  The first virtual trade show, ExpoExchange, is held
• 2000 – ExCel opens
• Websites become an integral element of event marketing and communications

2002-2006

• 2002 – UK venues host an estimated 1.5 million conferences and meetings
• In 2004 Google went public
• 2005 – Conferences and meetings in the UK worth an estimated 11.7 billion per year
• E-mail marketing is a key element of event communications
• Facebook was founded in 2004

2007-2011

• 2007 – twitter was founded
• PCOs talk about going green and how to recycle at events
• Hotels interpret force majeure clauses (the ability for a group to cancel without penalty if a disaster strikes)
• 2008 – MPI publishes a Corporate Social Responsibility Survey results, part of the Green initiative
• 2010 – The Barbican joins as ABPCO’s first corporate member
• Hybrid conferences become more pronounced with companies
• 2011 – ABPCO’s Conference Cloud calling for free wi-fi for delegates launches

Today the Association is thriving, with almost 100 members who organise an estimated 3500 conferences and events a year and represent some £58 million on venues and suppliers.  ABPCO is still the only industry association to offer individual membership to conference and event organisers, which welcomes both the independent and the in-house PCO/Event Organiser.

ABPCO Chair Michael Foreman commented: ‘We have come a long way since the beginning and are proud of how the organisation has grown and the achievements that have been made.  We could not have come this far however, without our wonderful members and the commitment and support from them.

We have always been positioned as the leading UK body representing the interests of Professional Conference Organisers and our aim has been to increase the profile and recognition of professional standards in our industry.  Over the last twenty five years we have made significant progress and  have fostered professionalism across the meetings industry.’

To mark the start of ABPCO’s Silver Anniversary year, ABPCO’s annual conference will be held at The Barbican from 25-27^th January with a spectacular gala dinner to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Thursday 26^th January.  Additional tickets have been made available to extend the event beyond those attending the conference to join in on the celebrations.

Further information about the conference is available on the ABPCO website and registration is open at http://www.shocklogic.com/abpco2012/