HYBRID
CITY ALLIANCE
Our mission is to connect the world to a global network of partners that foster collaboration to provide meeting professionals with access to knowledge, innovation, and tools to produce hybrid and multicity events.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF HYBRID MEETINGS!
Hybrid events are an important way forward for the event industry to return to live formats. This format provides a wider reach of your conference. In a hybrid meeting, some participants are attending in-person and other participants are connecting virtually at the same time. You can even set-up a multi-hub event connecting multiple locations around the world and make the meeting even more global and interactive. Multiple hub meetings are not new and have been taking place for a few years already, from involving a few cities or locations within one country to multiple cities from around the world; from very simple meetings with basic technology to more complex audiovisual productions.
Our Hybrid City Network
The alliance brings together 24 like-minded destinations from 16 countries around the world, with a common bond of providing solutions for hybrid and multi-hub events.
CLICK on the map and ZOOM to continents to see each member city’s details and contact information OR
CLICK HERE to see a full list of current members
Meet the HCA destinations aligning with the ICCA Protocol
Click on the city’s name on the interactive map above and learn more details or read a dedicated press release.
All you need to know about hybrid events in one
easy-to-read whitepaper
“Your Ultimate Guide to Multi-City Hybrid Events” came together in the spirit of collaboration. By engaging in dialogue with industry professionals, including planners and suppliers, through various workshops, the Hybrid City Alliance is pleased to share the results of these conversations in the white paper.
The white paper sets out to:
- Define what it means to run a multi city hybrid event – this includes the challenge of seeking a definition of hybrid events and identifying where they sit in the industry’s wider offering and vernacular
- Help choose whether or not to organise an in-person, digital or multi-hub hybrid event, including the various challenges and benefits of each.
- Provide ideas and guidance on the design of a successful multi-hub event with an awareness that this can mean creating separate live, digital and hybrid experiences with content appropriate to each as a stand-alone offering and the wider event as a whole.
- Consider the sustainability of multi-hub hybrid events, measure their impact on the world and apply appropriate actions to mitigate damage.
- Identify the risks associated with hybrid events, in particular those areas where risk to an event’s success is increased by a switch to the hybrid and multi-hub formats.
- Highlight health and safety challenges, particularly in light of an ongoing global pandemic.
Meet the Hybrid City Alliance
–
ICCA Best Marketing Award 2021 Winner
Our vision is to be the world leaders in developing ways for people to gather together in safe, flexible, and effective ways!
Launched in December 2020 by the Hague Convention Bureau, Ottawa Tourism Business Events, Prague Convention Bureau and Geneva Convention Bureau to provide a creative new offering for conference and event buyers.
Watch our Hybrid Story!
More information about the ICCA Best Marketing Award and our winning project can be also found in the press release here.
Get in touch with us!
Are you thinking about organizing hybrid events and not sure where to start? Do you need assistance with planning a multi-hub hybrid event? Are you interested in becoming a member of the Hybrid City Alliance? For any question, query or just to chat, please reach out to us via the following form or write to us via hello@hybridcityalliance.org. We will get back to you as soon as possible!
© Hybrid City Alliance
FAQ
Is there any question remaining unanswered for you? Check the frequently asked questions to find more information regarding hybrid events and the Hybrid City Alliance. If there is still something you would like to discuss with us, please reach to our team via the contact form!
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How does it work?
How does the Hybrid City Alliance serve International Event Organizers?
- The multiple city hybrid meeting can now be seen as a suitable alternative to online meetings at a time when more face-to-face participation is desired.
- It is already known that the hybrid format brings together the benefits of both online and face to face events.
- Having multiple city hybrid hubs provides an opportunity for regional and international events to take place safely.
Our solution
- The Hybrid City Alliance offers organizers of international events a solution when organizing multiple city hub events. The city partners in the Alliance are ready to act as one point of contact to streamline and simplify the clients’ interaction with multiple cities and suppliers regarding one event.
How?
Step 1:
In which cities do you want to have a hub for your event?
What do you require from each of these cities?
Review your requirements with a Hybrid City Alliance member.
Step 2:
Submit your multiple city hub RFP to your preferred Hybrid City Alliance partner. Your preferred Hybrid City Alliance partner will act as a coordinator with the cities you have requested to collect and compile proposals to be presented to you.
Step 3:
Receive your multi-city hub event proposal.
You may continue to engage with your preferred Hybrid City Alliance partner or directly with the CVB in your selected cities.
Is there any question remaining unanswered for you?
Read the FAQ to find more information regarding hybrid events and Hybrid City Alliance. If there is still something you would like to discuss with us, please don’t hesitate to reach our team via contact form!
FAQ
What is a multiple city hub event?
Simply put, a multiple city hub event is an event designed so that attendees can meet face to face in hubs located in different cities/countries, but all connected via an online platform.
Is this the same as the “Hub and Spoke” format?
Multiple city hybrid hub meetings can include, but are not limited to, the “Hub and Spoke” meeting format, which suggests the main meeting location with satellite hubs in other locations. Other terms used are “decentralized” and “satellite”. The role of each hub, whether it is as the main event hub, or as a satellite hub, or all hubs host-sharing, will be determined by the objectives of your event and therefore the design of the event.
For us as the Hybrid City Alliance a key element is to give all the delegates, no matter where they are located, a similar experience. Hybrid events are not about maintaining one audience divided by distance but using technology to grow audiences and share experiences. This is a new world for our market, it is continually evolving and more complex than people realise.
We have been exploring the option to have our international conference organized by connecting our regional members as hubs, the multiple city hub format may work for us, how can the Hybrid City Alliance help?
You may contact the CVB of a partner city of the Alliance in which at least one of your meeting hubs will be located. In 3 simple steps that CVB can act as your point of contact to engage with the other cities in your region(s) of interest.
We would like to have our international conference next year but are concerned about frequently changing travel restrictions, the comfort levels of our delegates regarding travel and our preference for a face-to-face event. How can the Hybrid Alliance help?
In 3 simple steps, the Alliance can support your decision to create meeting hubs to facilitate face to face interaction and limit travel.
What if we want to have one of our conference hubs in a city that is not part of the Hybrid City Alliance?
The Hybrid City Alliance is not an exclusive club but a solution for international event organizers. The Alliance has a core of strong partner cities who will engage as necessary to provide clients with a trusted solution.
We have our own PCO that we use for all of our conferences, what would be their role if we were to use the Hybrid City Alliance?
The Alliance encourages PCOs to expand their services to include multiple city hub events, if relevant for them. In 3 simple steps, the role of the Alliance will then be to ensure that, acting on your behalf, your PCO is supported. Alliance members are like air traffic controllers, pushing the business in the right direction and managing the flow of opportunities – the results flow from there.
Are there any extra costs involved in using the Hybrid City Alliance?
There are no fees involved in accessing the services of the Alliance. For cities wanting to join the alliance, there is a nominal marketing admin fee but otherwise there is no cost to entry. Most importantly though we are looking for a human resource and time commitment. We are looking for our members to become involved and make an effort. Those that do so will reap the greatest reward.
We would like to use the Hybrid City Alliance to provide us with access to cities that we have not held conferences in the past, but with which we would like to establish a relationship, is this possible?
Connecting with one partner city of the Alliance provides quick access to all partners of the Alliance and also to partner cities still to join the Alliance.
Does the Hybrid City Alliance have its own event platform?
The Alliance can connect you to trusted service providers to select the right event platform that suits the needs of your event. Across the world we have multiple destinations with access to multiple platform providers. Much like our attitude to the organisation of the event we don’t feel it appropriate for us to develop a platform. That decision should be left to the organisers who know what they want and need for their events to be a success. A key part of the alliance is our ability to bring our local partners on board to deliver all the various elements of an event and ensure they engage with the PCOs to achieve the strategic and logistical goals of any event.