The 2017 International Dragon Awards annual meeting (IDA 2017) brought more than 5,500 Chinese insurance specialists to Melbourne last August for a five-day convention.
Delegates from China’s largest insurance group, China Life, along with companies including Taiwan Life, Allianz, Prudential and Cathay Life gathered at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) for a series of development and knowledge exchange programmes and a mega awards ceremony that recognised top insurance and finance specialists with more than 2,000 awards.
The MCEC team worked closely with IDA 2017 organisers in the lead up to the event, utilising translators where necessary to ensure the event exceeded expectations. MCEC’s kitchen and retail catering teams designed a custom Asian-style menu for delegates as well as a tailored banquet menu for VIP delegates, with produce sourced from local suppliers across Victoria.
The event programme also featured city and regional tours, along with a number of social events.
Bespoke event highlights
The Opening Ceremony was a spectacle of colour and song, with local indigenous artists giving a ‘Welcome to Country’ performance, followed by an acrobatic aerial act and performance by a very convincing Kylie Minogue impersonator, who had delegates out of their seats and dancing.
Following this, MCEC hosted a special Chinese banquet for VIP delegates, where live entertainers performed alongside synchronised video projections. As well as an Australian Bush Band, there was also a photo booth in the shape of Melbourne’s iconic tram.
Destination focus
Delegates had the opportunity to explore Melbourne’s cultural, culinary and sporting capital. Hidden Secret Tours and the City of Melbourne hosted a bespoke city tour which showcased the world’s most liveable city, taking in Melbourne’s iconic laneways and historic landmarks such as Flinders Street Railway Station and Federation Square.
Flinders Street Railway Station
Phillip Island Nature Parks worked with the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) in the two-and-a-half-year lead-up to the convention, promoting its farm and nature-focused experiences at preceding Dragon Award meetings in Dubai (2015) and Macau (2016). As a result, more than 2,000 delegates visited Phillip Island during the event, experiencing the rugged coastline while coming face-to-face with Australia’s beloved little penguins.
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