C2 MELBOURNE HEADS FOR THE WHARVES

THE Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has revealed the historic Berth No. 5 North Wharf on the banks of the Yarra River will be the venue for Nov’s C2 Melbourne conference.

It marks the first time the North Wharf precinct has been used as a pop-up business events space, and will involve the neglected car park area being transformed into a setting designed to resemble an outdoor summer festival.

MCB ceo Karen Bolinger said she was pleased Melbourne was able to add a new kind of conference to its events arsenal.

“This is the event that was missing from Melbourne’s event calendar,” Bolinger said.

“It is unlike any tech, innovation, business, cultural or creative arts event previously seen in Australia.”

Bolinger said hosting C2 would take Victoria’s events calendar into the next generation by holding a gathering that did not resemble a classic business function.

C2 Melbourne will invite leaders from across more than 20 industries to discuss an array of different topics under the theme ‘ Ecosystems’.

The theme will focus on aspects of technology, art and design, marketing and media, impact and leadership.

At a launch function, event organisers unveiled several of C2 Melbourne’s speakers including Cirque du Soleil’s president & ceo Daniel Lamarre, start-up firm Spaceship’s president & ceo Paul Bennetts, and financial service company EY’s global vice chair, markets, and chair of global accounts committee Uschi Schreiber.

C2 was founded by Cirque du Soleil and Sid Lee in 2011, with Melbourne luring the event away from Montreal for the first time in its six-year history.