© visitBerlin
On 6 and 7 July, more than 800 experts from the tourism and events sector will exchange ideas in Berlin. Sustainability is high on the Bestival agenda this year.
On 6 and 7 July, more than 800 representatives of the national and international tourism and MICE industry will come together at Bestival – an innovative event format to exchange personal experiences and ideas, establish business contacts and discover what new Berlin has to offer.
Participants can look forward to a colourful mix of lectures, workshops, panel discussions and live acts on both the days. The Bestival is happening for the third time in 2023. And this year, the focus is once again on the topic of sustainability when planning and implementing events.This is ensured by visitBerlin together with the three industry associations visitBerlin Partnerhotels, BEN Berlin Event Network and INTOURA and all service providers involved. The invitees can hence get a first-hand experience of what a green event looks like at the beginning of June at the two locations – the industrial landmark “Magazin in der Heeresbäckerei“ and the SAGE Beach.
50 inspiring speakers and almost 160 partner companies, with whom participants can discuss the new industry trends. Another plus point: The festival programme can be individually adapted. There are five worlds of experiences that reflect the different facets of Berlin: “Berlin Sustainable”, “Berlin Lifestyle”, “Berlin Culture”, “Berlin Community” and “Berlin Innovation” will feature lectures, panel talks and live acts.
The Knowledge Hub in the “Magazin in der Heeresbäckerei” starts on the 6th of July with two keynotes. Dr. Prateep Beed from the Charité & Mind Foundation and Felix Rundel from futurehain will talk about the “Science of Rave”. The keynote by influencer and management expert Lunia Hara is called “Why you should know your value biography”. Other speakers include Dina Padalkina from Circular Berlin, Heinrich Carstens from POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, Dr. Katharina Reuter from the German Sustainable Business Association, Matthias Schultze from the German Convention Bureau and Thomas Hoff Andersson from BER Airport.
The evening event at the SAGE Club with networking, live music and a DJ will be inaugurated by Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey. “All of Berlin” is the motto of the second day of the festival, which is the 7th of July. Then participants will be able to explore the capital's wide range of offerings during discovery tours, site inspections and partner events and then exchange ideas at the “Lange Nacht der Hotels” (Long Night of the Hotels).
The Bestival is literally a best-practice festival, especially in terms of sustainability: It is at the centre of the focus of the conceptualisation, organisation and implementation of the two-day event. The sustainability strategy follows the criteria of the “Sustainable Meetings Berlin” initiative of the visitBerlin Convention Office as well as the ISO 20121 standard for sustainable event management. For example, the complete CO2compensation is carried out by the certified provider “Atmosfair” according to the Gold Standard.
All service providers, including companies in their supply chain, are committed towards working ecologically. In addition, they also measure and document the emissions they produce. The catering at the Bestival is also going to be completely vegetarian/vegan. The aim is to make the industry get-together climate-neutral in the long term. An important step towards this goal has been taken: Bestival will be certified according to ISO standard 20121 this year. The first part of the audit has already been successfully mastered as part of the preparation. The second final part of the audit will then take place directly at the venue.
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