Maastricht, April 20, 2022 – The exclusive Meet the Stars event was held in Maastricht from April 13 to 15. The three-day event is a joint initiative of MECC Maastricht and Maastricht Convention Bureau that aims to put Maastricht on the global map for academic associations considering holding a multi-day conference in the Maastricht region. Multiple-day international conferences have an impactful, long-term spin-off effect, and strengthen the city’s economic and social position. Meet the Stars focused on getting to know Maastricht and the recently renovated MECC Maastricht.
Unique program with royal treatment
In putting together the program, several renowned associations from various European countries were carefully selected and invited to visit Maastricht during this three-day event to get to know the city, the region and see the renovated MECC Maastricht. All of the associations invited to attend are considering holding their major multi-day scientific conferences in Maastricht during the period 2023 – 2026. This includes top titles that account for a total of over 60,000 overnight hotel stays and a total economic spin-off of 20 million Euros.
The delegation got to meet the “stars” of Maastricht, including the world-famous André Rieu; Professor Dr. Michael Jacobs, head vascular surgeon, director of the Heart and Vascular Centre at MUMC+ and director of the European Vascular Course; and Manon van den Beuken – Head of Fair Operations for TEFAF. These stars know the Maastricht region like the back of their hands and are also experts at organizing events in Maastricht and around the world. An extensive tour of Maastricht was naturally part of the program, as was a visit to the brand-new MECC Maastricht conference center.
“Every summer when I perform with my orchestra at the Vrijthof for ten thousand people who have come from all over the world I think: how amazing is this?! So many people coming to our beautiful city from all over; there were one hundred nationalities at the last concert! These people don’t just come here to see the concert. They stay for a few days, and some for even more than a week. The city just bustles with life and good cheer then. Maastricht has such an international allure, so people from all over the world immediately feel at home here. I’m so proud to be a Maastrichtian!” said André Rieu.
“The Meet the Stars event is a very nice opportunity to meet people and to learn more about the city of Maastricht and the conference center. The MECC Maastricht conference center is nicely rebuilt, very impressive and I look forward to have some meetings here. The event is very well organized and I would like to thank and compliment the organizing team of MECC Maastricht and Maastricht Convention Bureau”, said Helena Kandorava – President ESTIV – European Society of Toxicology Testing in Vitro.
“In Maastricht, on behalf of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies, we have been hosted by the Convention Bureau of Maastricht and the MECC team, to see the new building of the renovated MECC and to discover possibilities in the region for our congresses and events. The Convention Bureau has done a fantastic job to host us, to prepare this visit and to showcase what is possible and available in the region. We are ‘living’ the city, truly excited, truly inspired and we want to send a big warm and warm thank you for the great work of the local team,” said Valentini Amarantidou Executive Director – EANS – European Association of Neurosurgical Societies.
‘Empowering the region’
Multiple-day international conferences have an impactful, long-term spin-off effect, and strengthen the economic and social position of the city and region. Maastricht is a unique conference destination in the heart of Europe; it’s a city where people enjoy “the good life,” and where a rich international culture and history merge with an innovative knowledge ecosystem. The synergy between science, entrepreneurship and successful conferences in the brand-new MECC Maastricht conference center is what makes Maastricht such a special conference destination. These were the reasons that the Province of Limburg, the Municipality of Maastricht and MECC Maastricht decided to invest in a completely renovated conference center. As an extension of this investment, a large-scale international campaign was launched by MECC Maastricht and Maastricht Convention Bureau late last year which has put Maastricht and the region on the international map as an ideal conference destination. The exclusive Meet the Stars event will continue this campaign, once again putting Maastricht firmly on the map as an international conference destination.
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