Concept development to execution
YMCA’s international 175th anniversary event, took place at ExCeL London and was attended by 3,200 people from 100 countries. Bromfield Events managed start-to-finish services, from concept development and venue finding to production management and programme curation.
The event would use the landmark celebration to focus on youth leadership and the United Nation's (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and involved working with YMCA's global senior leadership team, member organisations around the world, sponsors and partners to execute a unique four-day summit.
YMCA Europe set out to deliver for a primary target audience of 16-35 year-olds, with concept, brand and messaging developed through consultation with focus groups, leading to 73% of attendees falling into the target bracket.
The event also required reigniting relationships with external stakeholders, and cultivating new ones, leading to more than £600,000 in sponsorship and donations.
The event programme was curated with a team of high-level volunteers from around the world, with speakers and entertainment sourced for a series of plenary events and ceremonies, including the UN's General Assembly President, UN Youth Envoy, Mayor of London and Amnesty International Secretary General.
A further 300 hours of workshop content was sourced and delivered through an open selection process across a wide range of issues aligned to the UN SDGs to allow delegates to connect, celebrate and create new ideas to address social issues.
Exhibitors, exhibitions, delegate breakout and recreational spaces and a health and wellbeing area were created over a 11,000 sq.m space in ExCeL's event halls.
SERVICES
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Concept development
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Venue finding
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Brand, messaging and MarComms
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Programme curation
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Speakers + entertainment
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Production management
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Delegate onboarding
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Registration management
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Environmental sustainability
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Volunteer recruitment
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Exhibitions
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Workshop implementation
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Suppliers and contracts
Delegates had a range of accommodation and ticketing options, working with partners to ensure a streamlined registration process and rooming allocation for more than 2,500 rooms and beds.
With a younger demographic of delegates, environmental sustainability was an event priority, and required consideration across all event aspects, working with suppliers and venue to bring this to the forefront for implementation.
More than 200 international volunteers were recruited, assigned to projects and briefed to ensure the event's smooth-running.
Production management across thousands of hours of content and multiple in-venue spaces required meticulous planning to meet licensing requirements and keep the summit running to time.
Client: YMCA Europe
Venue: ExCeL London
Brand: 6redsquares
Video + Photography: 89 Tasten
"Mike is an inspiration, a passionate, hardworking leader with a focus on excellence and inclusivity. Despite all the pressures of a massive global event I never saw him overly stressed or worried. With YMCA175 he delivered an event that has transformed and raised the bar for YMCA events of the future . I'm honoured to have worked with him."
Richard James, CEO
YMCA St Paul's Group (London)
