AsiaWorld-Expo has been voted as inaugural winner of the “Best Venue Team” across Asia by leading industry authority CEI Asia in its authoritative annual Industry Survey. Pinpointing the top team amongst Asia’s leading venue providers based on innovation and excellence in service standards and quality, the honour is sure to become an industry benchmark. Organised by one of the region’s most respected specialist Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) publications, the CEI awards are based on votes and feedback from professionals and readers from the MICE industry worldwide.

As AsiaWorld-Expo’s staff prepare to celebrate their 10th anniversary, this award represents a tremendous vote of confidence and proof of the venue’s successful track record.

Having assembled a solid team which delivers on its ‘Dare to Innovate, Care to Collaborate’ commitment, AsiaWorld-Expo has become renowned for consistently delivering innovation in generating new ideas, flexibility to meet customers’ and their partners’ unique and differing needs, and promoting collaboration with different parties in creating win-win situations. In further underlining its consistency, CEI readers also voted the venue the first runner-up in the “Best Convention and Exhibition Centre” in Asia category for a second successive year. This is the fourth time in the decade since it first opened its doors for business that CEI and its readers have voted AsiaWorld-Expo one of Asia’s Top Three “Best Convention and Exhibition Centres”.

AsiaWorld-Expo also started 2015 with an amazing record of achieving total metreage sold at over 25,000,000 sq. ft. in 2014 – a double-digit increase over the previous 12 months. This is the fifth consecutive year that the venue has recorded business growth of over 10%. Equally encouraging is the fact that the venue’s utilisation has been growing throughout the past five years, with the estimated number of full-house days in 2014/15 expected to reach a new high of 52 days. This is close to a six-fold jump when compared to utilisation in 2012. Such positive progress underlines the success of the AsiaWorld-Expo team’s strategic emphasis on innovation and collaboration in an increasingly competitive sector both locally and globally.

Asia’s largest five-star-accredited international show jumping event, The Longines Masters is about to make its eagerly awaited return to AsiaWorld-Expo. Now in its third year, this remarkable US$1,000,000 tournament doesn't only offer the region’s equestrian fans a unique opportunity to catch 30 of the world’s finest show jumpers and their horses competing up close and personal. It also gives visitors the chance to combine their favourite sporting pastime with superbly refined Michelin-starred wining, dining and lifestyle activities. In addition to contemporary art, temptations on offer this February will include designer fashion shows, live music, champagne tasting, exclusive luxury shopping and much, much more besides!

With its latest hosting of this highlight on Asia’s equestrian calendar coinciding with its 10th anniversary celebration, AsiaWorld-Expo is once again reiterating its world-class status. In joining Paris and LA in presenting this genuinely one-of-a-kind event to the world, it is also continuing to harness exceptional levels of innovation and collaboration in meeting the needs of different event organisers.

Innovation via its ingenious transformation of its facilities into a safe and hygienic 27,000 sq. m. column-free equestrian course for riders and their horses, and just next door a Prestige Village with classy ambience for attendees to indulge in style.

Collaboration in the way that its specialist F&B teams will continue to partner with Michelin-starred French chef in delivering a top-notch Michelin culinary experience.

The HKTDC International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show took the pioneering innovative ‘two shows, two venues’ arrangement in 2014 to split raw stones & jewellery material and finished jewellery collections across two locations for the first time.

Together with the HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, the two shows form the world’s largest jewellery marketplace. It is proved a magnet for more than 4,200 exhibitors from 52 countries and regions in this edition.

Such record-breaking success has perfectly set the stage for AsiaWorld-Expo to continue providing a professional trading platform that focuses on raw jewellery supplies such as loose diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones in 2015. New this year is the Treasures of Ocean which showcases the quality pearls from Tahitian and South Sea.

The convenience of the venue’s strategic location at the heart of Hong Kong’s local and global transport hub was just one of many aspects of doing business here that proved to be very popular with both exhibitors and buyers. “This is an excellent fair,” said Mr. Jenya Bilousov, owner of Leopard Gems, Ukraine. “My team has succeeded in selling many stones to existing customers as well as new buyers from important markets such as Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. AsiaWorld-Expo is a good location for all traders to get together and do business," Mr. Bilousov added.

Widely considered to be the ideal marketplace for launching or sourcing each year’s hottest upcoming Autumn/Winter collections, this show has experienced a steady growth in its number of exhibitors since its 2007 launch. Its continued success results from sustained industry support and growing demand from both participants and attendees. Having attracted some 433 exhibitors from 18 countries and regions, and drawn in visitors from fully 107 countries and regions, the event’s 2014 edition maintained this upwards momentum.

“The fair result is very encouraging and the number of visitors up 80% compared to last year.” said Ms Celine Lau, director of Jewellery Fairs, UBM Asia. “This certainly indicates that the fair has become one of the most popular trading platforms for fashion jewellery and accessories in the first quarter of the year,” she added.

Acknowledged as the world’s leading specialist convention of its kind, LINC Asia-Pacific continues to be a major standout on the medical profession’s events calendar. In 2014, over 750 professionals from 29 countries flocked to AsiaWorld-Expo. This all bodes very well for the event’s upcoming 2015 edition – the seventh straight year LINC has been based at AsiaWorld-Expo.

Said Ms. Antonie Jager, a chief organiser, on her team’s reasons for selecting AsiaWorld-Expo as their venue of choice since 2009: “The Level 2 Meeting & Hospitality Centre here is ideal as everything is on one floor and enjoys a separate entrance.”

“There’s also a dedicated reception area where LINC delegates can erect their booths, plus a combination of rooms for larger meetings or smaller break-out sessions. Most importantly of all, AsiaWorld-Expo’s balance is just right! The area they offer us is not only large enough to accommodate our exhibitors and meetings, but also small enough to keep everyone together. Just the job for a convention-style meeting like ours!”, Ms. Jager concluded.

Attracting over 9,000 delegates annually, Worlddidac Asia is a must-attend event for professionals from educational institutes. In 2013 alone, roughly 200 business matchmaking opportunities were created at the show. Highlights at Worlddidac’s upcoming showcase – yet another first for AsiaWorld-Expo – will include live demonstrations of over 1,000 examples of cutting-edge educational innovations from approximately 100 leading companies across 25 countries.

As Worlddidac Asia 2015 will be co-located with Asia Education Leaders Forum 2015 (AELF) and the Education Partnership Forum (EPF), visitors to all three shows will be able to access the latest educational breakthroughs under one roof. The new multi-faceted event will also feature exciting ministerial keynote remarks and 36 other inspiring speakers from across the region and around the world. The sixth edition of AELF will be opened by Mr. Eddie Ng, Secretary for Education, Government of Hong Kong SAR.

Probably the regions’s premier showcase for green-tech business, Eco Expo Asia, concluded its 2014 edition on a high having seen its strongest global presence yet. In addition to 308 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions, the figures included 10,817 visitors from 89 countries and regions. An Eco Asia conference was just one of several highlights of last year’s Expo umbrella event. Ultimately, over 30 government representatives and industry experts in the field of environmental protection development came along to exchange market insights regarding new Chinese government policies and technological advancements. More than 560 attendees also joined the Conference’s discussions. Covering everything from energy efficiency and green building solutions to waste management and air purification technologies, the fair offered both expert trade professionals and curious members of the general public a glimpse at how to create a more ecologically sustainable future.

Following its huge success in 2013, it was only natural that the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) once again brought its galaxy of global megastars and Kpop & Canton-pop chart-toppers to AsiaWorld-Expo for an encore. The many big names in attendance at last December’s MAMA event included John Legend, EXO, BIGBANG members G-dragon & Taeyang, Infinite and Sistar plus local legends Eason Chan, Andy Lau and Alan Tam. In addition to a dazzling red carpet and jaw-dropping main stage performances, the year’s many standouts included a gigantic exhibition of Korean fashion and beauty brands at AsiaWorld-Summit. Highlighting how innovatively organisers had utilised the venue’s convenient layout, the end result was a stunning destination where delighted visitors could indulge in the best of Korean culture under one roof.

Celebrating health, happiness and vibrancy and popularly nicknamed ‘the Happiest 5k on the Planet’, The Color Run™ made its long awaited Hong Kong debut at AsiaWorld-Expo last December. Attracting an estimated 16,000 participants, the fun run subsequently went on to became one of The Color Run™’s largest ever single-day events across the region. With part of the specially illuminated course winding through AsiaWorld-Expo’s massive halls and world-class facilities, this was also the first ever Color Run™ globally to entice visitors with a unique indoor ‘night glow’. Deriving maximum benefit from the venue’s strategic location and vast outdoor areas, participants also enjoyed dramatic, scenic panoramas out across the Airport and North Lantau.

(CSR event)

One of the world’s best loved musicals, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA recently made a long-awaited return to Hong Kong in a specially constructed 4,000-seat theatre inside AsiaWorld-Expo, Arena. With a superb venue mirroring the production’s epic story and timeless score, audiences were astonished by being able to experience the full West End and Broadway spectacle here in Asia.

To take everyone’s enjoyment levels even higher, AsiaWorld-Expo introduced a “5-senses” experience to help audiences to immerse themselves in the onstage spectacular. To this end, the show’s setting included not only an extra-high ceiling and mega screens but also professional acoustic management. Ultimately, ticketholders were overwhelmed by ultra-dramatic stage effects that enabled them to see and hear a luxuriously costumed cast in greater detail than ever before. To further add to the magic, romantic, soothing rose scents were diffused at all main entrances before curtain up and Arena Kitchen served mouth-watering Opera-themed special set menus and signature desserts. There was even a mega photo-booth featuring an iconic shot of Christine and the Phantom where visitors could pose and take home a perfect photographic souvenir.

To ensure proceedings were even more unforgettable, major leads, Brad Little, Claire Lyon and Anthony Downing, held a series of post-show ‘meet’n’greets’ at the nearby EXPOtainment CUBE. Graciously shaking hands and signing autographs, these all-star sessions showcased how the venue helped organisers to extend visitor engagement levels beyond the stage by exciting and delighting Phantom fans in ways they never expected.

Universally acknowledged as the most important global conference of its kind, WCA attracted independent freight forwarders from the world’s premier international network to AsiaWorld-Expo.

Over 2,500 freight forwarding executives descended on Hong Kong for 2015’s three-day 17th WCA First Annual Conference. Delegates eagerly exchanged ideas and insights during intensive one-on-one business meetings and plenary sessions before unwinding at an array of social events such as a cocktail reception and awards dinner.

The man who brought his delegates back to Hong Kong for the second successive year, WCA Limited President, Mr. David L Yokeum says: “As always, AsiaWorld-Expo and its people have excelled themselves! Last time we were here, the venue achieved high standards across the board and this year attendees once again enjoyed a well-organised and very productive time together! Ultimately, no request to the AsiaWorld-Expo team has ever proved too big or too difficult. Satisfying the appetites of visitors from around 80 countries, support on the catering front is also similarly first rate!”

First held in 2007, the annual Airline Retail Conference (ARC) continues to be probably the most focused global educational and networking platform in airline retailing. In 2011, the event was expanded to include a second, specifically Asian showcase.

Now in its fifth year, ARC Asia-Pacific has firmly established itself as the most important conference for regional leaders in inflight retailing, ancillary revenue strategies and onboard F&B.

Fully leveraging AsiaWorld-Expo’s world-class facilities and user-focused design and facilities, ARC 2015 crammed two days of registrations, exhibitions, conferences and networking programmes, lunches and refreshment breaks within one self-contained venue. Such high-level convenience not only guarantees exhibitors optimal exposure amongst the highest possible density of delegates but also utmost simplicity for visitors to the show.