Brighter at The BNC Show, London

It was the Buyers Networking Club’s second show of the year and brought together hundreds of event industry professionals for a day of learning and event planning for the future.

Held in the impressive surroundings of Mansion House, the home and office of the Lord Mayor of London, there were more than 80 exhibitors present, as well as leaders of the events industry in attendance.

There were also six seminars throughout the day on subjects including a Women Leadership Workshop: Overcoming Setbacks & Progressing'You' in the Workplace; The Business of Speakers: Voices for 2025; Essential AI Tools for Event Planning Success and Top Venues to Book for2025: Insights and Trends for Event Planners.

Our Brighter business development managers Katy Nuza and Liz Seaton were both at the show which is recognised as a great meet-up for people in the M&E industry.

And Liz managed to attend the final seminar of the day - Top Venues to Book for 2025: Insights and Trends for Event Planners’.

She said that some of the venues to keep an eye on for the coming year, according to the panel, were the Park Hyatt River Thames London, The 5* Emory in London’s Belgravia, Rosewood in London and Corrigan’s in Mayfair.

With the panel and delegates agreeing exceptional service is the priority from a hotel for any event planner, the audience heard some of the top tips for sourcing an international venue are researching the people and the culture, having a detailed spec list for the event, as well as having every single question and query answered so there are no last-minute surprises.

That’s as well as continually improving relationships with venues, picking up the phone to them rather than email and ensuring you know your clients well.

During the day, both Katy and Liz shared various appointments and meetings with potential new clients.

And Sharon Bannister, our Head of Sales and Account Management, was also at the showpiece event to liaise with industry leaders, engage with many of our existing customers in attendance and meet potential new clients, showcasing our new Brighter brand.

Sharon said:

“The BNC really knows how to organise a good event and what we, as delegates and exhibitors, need to make it a successful day. We’ve made some quality connections once again. The number of people attending helps make it such a productive day. It was great to spend time with so many people from within our industry in such an impressive venue.”

The Buyers Networking Club (BNC) was formed in 1997 by Kim Paulden and has successfully continued to network and share knowledge worldwide.

Kim, now BNC Managing Director, told Brighter:

“After this year’s event we’ve had so many fantastic comments, not only from the buyers that came and walked the floor, but the exhibitors too who also loved it."

“The difference between us and the other shows is that we just go for the quality. We have done that now for 12 years and if you want to speak to a really good buyer, they come to our show. We don’t do huge numbers. Other shows they may bring in 3 or 5 thousand people over a few days, but I always believe there are not that many buyers out there, quality buyers, so we just go for the quality buyers.That’s what sets us aside. We’re almost like the Harrods of the industry!”

“The venue was new and everyone loved it. It was like Buckingham Palace when you go in, it’s incredible. The paintings on the wall, it’s just amazing. It was a really plush venue and it warranted quality exhibitors and buyers. It married itself really well to what we do. We were really pleased. People are booking already for 2025, exhibitors reserving spaces. It’s really good, the show sells itself because people like what we do.”

The next show takes place on 1st April 2025 at Central Hall Westminster.

‍