Conferences program

Visibility strategy, reputation strategy, business development strategy, getting teams behind a common project... A look at the objectives pursued by a company or brand's events strategy.

And what if the current complicated period were not a brake, but a lever for rethinking the growth of the events industry? The sector has no shortage of talent, ideas or energy. But to regain momentum, it needs to rethink its models, formats and stories. What rethought offers for more demanding customers? What new value can be created to convince, engage and build loyalty? What collective strategy can we adopt to turn events from an expense into a recognised, measurable and strategic investment? The aim of this sequence is to open up the outlook, take on the ambition, and rebuild a growth dynamic that is equal to the challenges.

They are at the heart of the action, guaranteeing smooth running, consistency and quality... and often under pressure. Faced with increasingly complex events, more demanding customers and ever greater budgetary, time, environmental and human constraints, the role of the project manager is changing. Should they become strategists? Coach?

Mediator? Digital expert? A bearer of meaning? This sequence gives the floor to those who are experiencing these changes on a daily basis: to share their realities, their tensions, but also their aspirations and their vision of tomorrow's profession.

An essential ritual in internal life, the company convention no longer seems to be able to keep its promises. Formatted, top-down and often disconnected, it often struggles to mobilise people in a workplace undergoing profound change. So should we reinvent it?
What do employees really expect today? How can we re-create links, attention and impact? How can we design a convention that is at once personal, collective and committed? How can we move from a tired format to one that is strategic, lively and transformative?

From the brief to execution on the big day, including design, production and the human, technical and material resources deployed, you'll find out everything you need to know behind the scenes of some of the most exemplary events of the year.

They are creative, committed, agile... and sometimes unexpected. A new generation of caterers is arriving on the events scene with proposals that break with the routine: rethought formats, radical sourcing, culinary stories, participative experiences, circular logics... Faced with them are historic players who have not said their last word, and who also know how to innovate, structure and guarantee. Between controlled tradition and new daring, what are the choices for organisers? This sequence highlights the paths, complementarities and tensions of a sector in full effervescence.

At a time when companies are looking to rekindle support, pride in belonging and team spirit, seminars are still a popular format. But are they still up to the challenge? Can they still embody a vision, nurture a shared culture, build bridges between generations and professions? So what place does the seminar have in the managerial and cultural strategy of an organisation?

Engagement tools, intelligent platforms, AI, data at every level... EventTech promises a great deal: to make events more fluid, to personalise them, to measure them and to create scenarios. In reality, however, it's hard for these tools to become widespread, the ROI is unclear, and the emotion that lies at the heart of the event is difficult to codify. So should we still believe in the promises of technology? How can we distinguish between gadget, tool and strategic lever? How can we reconcile the hopes, uses and real benefits of technology in the event industry?

Event technology is naturally inventive. Immersive audio, augmented video, narrative lighting, made-to-measure interactivity, animated scenography, intelligent cabling... Innovations are multiplying and some are already transforming the way we design, produce and experience an event. This sequence presents some of the latest innovations and gives the floor to those who have tested them in real life. Working as a duo or solo, technicians, creatives and producers come and share an innovation that they have implemented: what it has changed, what it has enabled, what it promises. No abstract concepts: real, concrete, live.

The year 2024 proved that the event could once again find its place at the heart of the city. The Games transformed public space into an open, creative, popular and memorable stage. This demonstration of strength invites brands to rethink their relationship with the street: a place of expression, a meeting place, a living narrative. How can this momentum be sustained? What formats should be invented to create accessible, visible and engaging experiences? In a context of sobriety, tensions and high expectations, how can we activate public space without saturating it?

This is a sequence for thinking about events for the general public as a lever for contemporary and responsible activation.

Purchasing now plays a central role in a company's events strategy. Between the quest for performance, budget control, quality requirements and CSR imperatives, the balances are sometimes difficult to maintain. To move forward, it is essential to strengthen the dialogue between buyers, specifiers, agencies, service providers and venues. How can we work together more effectively, right from the start? How can we incorporate innovation, sustainability and uniqueness into the decision-making criteria, while respecting economic constraints? And what if a more virtuous ecosystem came about through a shared approach to value, transparency and trust?

SPORSORA, the leading organisation for thinking about and influencing the development of the sports economy, is organising the third edition of the Observatoire des Grands Evénements Sportifs Internationaux (GESI) on 16 November in partnership with HEAVENT PARIS. With the mission of informing the entire sports industry sector, this Observatory is a great opportunity to hear from representatives of the various major past or future sports events organised on French territory. Sharing best practices, highlighting French expertise in the organisation and activation of major sporting events and identifying business opportunities arising from these events are the objectives of the Observatoire des GESI organised by SPORSORA 

The events industry loves the wow factor, but does it really support its start-ups and innovative companies? Are we giving them the means to test, deploy and emerge on a long-term basis in a market that is still too risk-averse? What if visible, useful and value-creating innovation were to become a differentiating criterion for agencies, venues, service providers and advertisers alike? This open session will look at the conditions for innovation in our sector: why, how, with whom and for what purpose? It's a call to action to move beyond curiosity... and into action.

Is it the emotion? The number of leads generated? The respect of the budget? Customer feedback? Virality on the networks? Each player in the event industry - buyer, agency, venue, service provider, participant - has its own definition of success. And often, these criteria do not coincide. This open session invites everyone to share their vision, indicators and convictions. Is it possible to build a common framework? Or should we take on multiple criteria? And what if, at the end of the day, a successful event was first and foremost a question of meaning?

Content-driven events, particularly those initiated by tech companies, have reinvented themselves. Today, they are mixing formats, playing the editorial card, scripting the experience and seeking impact. They are no longer content to simply line up speakers: they are building narratives, bringing together engaged communities and accelerating the dynamics of innovation. At a time of cognitive saturation and scarce attention, how do these formats manage to remain relevant, desirable and strategic? Why, far from being outmoded, is the content event back at the heart of the game?