AWE_eNews2016_Oct_Layout_aw_Long

AWE Welcomes Asia’s Leading Beauty Fair

Cosmoprof Asia Hong Kong 2016
15-17 November 2016

Now in its 21st edition, Cosmoprof Asia has expanded rapidly to become one of the most recognised and celebrated events in the beauty sector. Following years of resounding success, growth and development, Cosmoprof Asia will be presenting this year’s event strategically across two venues, allowing exhibitors to expand their presence and helping visitors to more easily realise their sourcing goals.

Exhibitors at AWE will showcase packaging, ingredients and processing equipment on 15-17 November 2016, while the exhibitors of finished cosmetic products will be featured at the HKCEC on 16-18 November 2016. Combined, the two venues will offer an exhibition area of more than 98,000 sqm featuring some 2,700 exhibitors, and 25 national and group pavilions.

In 2015, the event attracted 63,241 visitors from 119 countries and regions, of whom 40,761 came from outside of Hong Kong. This year’s strategic new format, as well as a packed event programme, is forecast to attract even more visitors. Concurrent with the three-day exhibition at AWE, the event’s educational component, World Asia Forum, will bring together business and industry leaders in round-tables, discussions and panels covering the hottest topics and challenges currently facing the global beauty industry. This year’s event also promises a number of key highlights, including the first edition of the Innovation Circle Awards to acknowledge the most innovative packaging and design in the beauty industry. Likewise, Spotlight on Ingredients is a new zone at AWE to help formulators, R&D and business development professionals discover new ingredients, textures and formulations.

A World-leading Forum Returns to AWE

The 55th Orient & Southeast Asian Lions (OSEAL) Forum
10-13 November 2016

The Orient & Southeast Asian Lions (OSEAL) Forum, first held in 1962, is an annual function hosted in turn by participating countries and regions in the South-East Asia and Pacific Rim, namely Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Designed to promote the principles and objectives of Lions Clubs International, the event features motivational seminars and workshops to enhance Lions’ leadership skills. It also gives Lions the opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss new activities, while also strengthening international relationships between Lions worldwide.

The complete four-day event will comprise an Opening Ceremony, Cocktail Reception, Centennial Exhibition, Bazaar, Seminars, Breakout Meetings, and a Closing Ceremony. AWE is ideally suited to this mega event, offering a huge variety of flexible venues and a comprehensive selection of nearby hotels and attractions. In addition to utilising Hong Kong’s largest indoor Arena, the event will hold its breakout meetings and reception at AWE’s exclusive meeting and hospitality centre, with all venues located within an easy stroll for a truly seamless event experience under one roof. Some 12,000 people are expected to attend.

New Website, New Online Experience

Our newly revamped website features a convenient and user-friendly new interface. All information has been categorised for easier navigation, and a number of new functions have been introduced to offer even more convenience. For instance, users can now integrate events with their personal calendars. To keep pace with the popularity of smart phones and mobile devices, the new site is also optimised for a variety of viewing formats. Event organisers will be pleased to know that the new website will soon offer a dedicated zone with privileged access to important event-planning information.

In the Media Spotlight – The 2016 Legislative Council Election at AWE
4-5 September 2016

The recent 2016 Legislative Council Election was one of the most highly anticipated events of the year in Hong Kong. This led to a record-high turnout of voters, which made vote counting even more challenging. To ensure that this vital process could proceed smoothly and efficiently, AWE’s professional event planning team began the pre-event preparations 18 months beforehand. Throughout that time, AWE kept in close liaison with the Registration Election Office (REO) to ensure that all service partners, such as bus and train operators, were kept fully up-to-date with the logistical arrangements and in close collaboration.

AWE’s column-free design made it the perfect central counting centre. The event required a spacious yet transparent setting which could also accommodate important announcements on stage, as well as sitting areas for candidates and the public, a working zone for media, counting areas for REO staff, and offices for other stakeholders, comprising over 10,000 people in total.

To ensure that everyone could follow and receive the latest news from this spotlight event, AWE’s advanced ICT services played a pivotal role in the smooth-running of live broadcasts. In parallel with this success, AWE’s award-winning F&B team served the needs of all working parties, participants and VIPs throughout the two-day event.

Naturally, an event of this nature requires security and crowd management of the very highest calibre. AWE’s team ensured a safe yet welcoming environment in full compliance with the highest international security and safety protocols.

To express our appreciation to members of the media, who worked around-the-clock to keep the people of Hong Kong fully up-to-date, we set up a refreshment corner in the media centre offering complimentary food and beverages. AWE’s team also prepared hospitality kits for media staff, which included energy-boosting snacks, stationery, and personal care amenities such as a T-shirt/towel, facial masks, a disposable dental care kit set, and a communication pack detailing all essential 24-hour services and technical support hotlines.

To support the candidates who had worked tirelessly in the preceding weeks and months, and who were eagerly waiting the results of the election, we likewise prepared a dedicated VIP lounge where they could rest and rejuvenate. A hospitality kit and exclusive ambassador hotline was also provided for their comfort and support.

The extended time needed for counting votes was a further example of AWE’s flexibility and adaptability to unforeseen circumstances. This run-over in the event time not only presented a challenge in terms of event service provision, but also tightened the necessary turnaround time for the next event. Our event operation team met this challenge head-on, working as one to transform the venue from a counting centre with almost 9,000 tables and other sophisticated set-ups to an exhibition venue ready to welcome the arrival of the world’s largest jewellery show.

Everyone at AWE is deeply thankful that our professional efforts and caring services were so widely recognised and earned such positive media coverage. This high-profile event was a major milestone both for AWE and Hong Kong, and is yet further proof that a tireless commitment to excellence is in our DNA here at AWE.

Time-lapse video

AWE Puts Hong Kong Centre Stage with the World’s Leading
Jewellery Fairs

Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair 2016
13-17 September 2016

The September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, organised by UBM Asia, continued its well proven and highly successful product sectorisation arrangement. AWE was the exhibition venue for the world’s finest raw diamonds, pearls and gemstones. In total, AWE welcomed over 1,600 local and overseas exhibitors, including the world’s largest Diamond Pavilion, home to around 500 diamond companies, as well as Asia’s biggest gemstone marketplace, with over 750 gemstone companies. This year’s event also saw the debut of the Myanmar and Portugal Pavilions.

Asia's Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair - September
13-16 September 2016

Recognised as the leading event in the fashion jewellery and accessories industry, the 2016 Asia’s Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair - September featured around 400 exhibitors, more than 80% of whom came from overseas. The four-day event featured an exciting line-up of attractions, including five group pavilions and an even bigger Stainless Steel Jewellery Pavilion, comprising over 40 exhibitors. The two concurrent fairs enabled buyers from both the fine jewellery and the fashion jewellery and accessories markets to source products and keep abreast of the latest trends within these two complementary industries.

Asia’s First Multi-Sport Festival Proves a Huge Success

Event:	Arnold Classic Asia 2016 Multi-Sport Festival Asia’s first themed festival to promote sports, fitness and health, bringing together professionals, amateurs and enthusiasts in an atmosphere of competition, learning and sharing
Date:	20-21 August 2016
Format:	Exhibition, Seminar, International Award-winning Competitions and Performances

This debut two-day festival featured a unique programme of non-stop sports competitions and interactive workshops for more than 20 different sports. These ranged from mind games such as chess and Rubik’s Cube, to table tennis, skip rope, rugby, arm-wrestling, weight lifting, cycling, yoga, rowing, and martial arts, including tai chi, judo, krav maga, kung fu and more. Complemented by an exhibition, the festival also enabled attendees to discover the latest health and wellness trends.

One of the highlights of the event was the Arnold Seminar, which offered a rare opportunity to meet Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger in person. In addition to being one of the world’s greatest bodybuilders and the seven-times winner of Mr Olympia, Arnold Schwarznegger is a major Hollywood superstar, a leading environmental advocate, and the former Governor of California. Drawing on this rich experience, he shared his beliefs with audience members in an inspirational presentation that impacted everyone in attendance.

Taking advantage of AWE’s highly integrated yet flexible venue setting, the event featured a large-scale exhibition, competition zone and performance stage, and an entire hall dedicated to the debut Arnold Classic Asia Live Pro Show, which allowed the world’s strongest men and women to demonstrate their remarkable body-building achievements.

More than just a venue partner, AWE was honoured to collaborate with the event organiser to help promote the festival to local mass media. We also organised a CSR event, inviting over 150 Tung Chung residents to come and learn more about a healthy, sporty lifestyle.

AWE Accommodates Strong Growth in Exhibitor and Visitor Numbers

Event:	ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016 Asia’s leading trade show for international fresh fruit and vegetable business
Date:	7-9 September 2016
Visitors:	11,000 professional buyers

Event:	ASIA FRUIT CONGRESS 2016 Asia’s premier fresh produce conference and networking event
Date:	6 September 2016
Delegates:	375 high-level industry professionals

ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA, Asia’s only dedicated fresh fruit and vegetable trade show, celebrated its tenth anniversary with record visitor and exhibitor numbers on 7-9 September at AWE. The show was some 18% bigger than last year’s in terms of exhibition space. In total, 665 companies from 37 different countries exhibited their products and services at the trade fair, representing an increase of almost 100 on the 2015 edition.

More than 11,000 high-quality buyers and trade visitors from 74 different countries were also in attendance. This was a 22% increase on last year’s event, further affirming ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA’s status as Asia’s definitive event for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

Since its relocation to AWE in 2012, the event has enjoyed continual and sustained growth. Last year saw the introduction of a new conference called COOL LOGISTICS ASIA. The conference returned again this year, bringing together a high-powered panel of industry experts to discuss the latest trends in Asia’s perishable supply chains.

The day prior to the opening of the exhibition, the ASIA FRUIT CONGRESS took place in the Meeting & Hospitality Centre at AWE, enabling industry leaders to enjoy privileged access to the latest market insights and opportunities across Asia. An exclusive reception for the Congress was also held at IKON Seaview Restaurant, located on the same floor as the meeting venue.

「劃這」 – Roadshow TV Programme

Intended to showcase land development projects, the TV programme「劃這」explores the delicate balance between development and conservation. Mr Allen Ha, Chairman of the Public Relations and Promotion Sub-Committee of the Lantau Development Advisory Committee (LanDAC), recently appeared on the programme to explain more about the future infrastructure and commercial and residential developments planned for North Lantau. He also elaborated how these will contribute to the local community, such as by creating new employment opportunities, accelerating economic growth and lifting the upward mobility of local youths. This visionary new district is perfectly counterbalanced by South Lantau, which is renowned for its natural and cultural resources, and offers an unparalleled setting for the promotion of green tourism and environmental education.

(Broadcasted in September 2016)

Hong Kong International Airport North Commercial District Development

Situated next to AWE, the North Commercial District (NCD) of Hong Kong International Airport will cover some 25 hectares and be of immense strategic importance to the economic and social development of both Lantau and Hong Kong. It is expected to play a major role in promoting the bridgehead economy created by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB). To support the development of the NCD, the Government approved on 23 September that the entire NCD area can be removed from the original land lease of the airport and put under a new lease to enhance the flexibility of its land usage. According to the Airport Authority’s plan, the NCD will be developed into the region’s first purpose-built retail, dining and entertainment destination, ultimately creating a dynamic “sky city”. This vibrant new destination will further enrich travellers’ experience of Hong Kong and become a unique tourist attraction in its own right. During the first phase of development, the NCD will gain a 1,000-room hotel, and a large-scale retail mall of up to 200,000 sqm.

(Broadcasted on 23 September 2016)

Phoenix TV《Decoder》

Mr Allen Ha was invited to join this programme to talk about developments on Lantau and how the MICE industry is creating a synergistic economic contribution to the local community, as evidenced by the many overseas delegates and travellers who attend events at AWE. In his capacity as convener of the Aero-Bridgehead Economy Employers Network (ABEEN), Mr Ha shared how Lantau-based employers have joined hands to attract new talents with visionary and upwardly mobile career paths. He also explained the importance of further developing Lantau’s transportation connections and social development to make the community an ideal place for learning, working and living.

(Broadcasted on 23 June 2016)

中外會展雜誌 -
China International Conference & Exhibition Magazine

After double-digit percentage growth for six consecutive years, AWE is a compelling success story in the international MICE industry. Mr Allen Ha, who has led AWE’s growth for over a decade, was interviewed by the Mainland magazine to explain how the venue has gradually built up its brand, and greatly enlarged its catchment in the PRD region by collaborating with the Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Ms Enid Low, Chief Strategy Officer at AWE, likewise explained the concept of EXPOtainment, using case studies to show how AWE has flexibly accommodated events integrating both exhibition and entertainment elements.

(Published in July and August 2016)