On 30 March 2023, RAI Amsterdam took home the prestigious prize for Best International Venue at the Exhibitions News Awards ceremony held in the ExCeL London center.
Widely regarded as 'The Oscars' of the global trade show sector, the Exhibition News Awards are conferred annually on businesses that make outstanding contributions to the industry.
Best International Venue
RAI Amsterdam had been shortlisted in the ‘Best International Venue’ category where it faced stiff competition from nominees, such as the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Bruges Meeting & Convention Centre (BMCC), the Panama Convention Centre, and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Its submission for the award included the successful resumption of activities and events in the spring of 2022 following the lifting of Covid restrictions and the RAI’s efforts to support Ukrainian refugees in partnership with Amsterdam city council.
Challenge and privilege
Our goal is always to support exhibition and conference organizers in making their event a success"
“Winning this major prize is a wonderful recognition that our efforts have been noticed and are paying off,” says RAI Amsterdam COO - Maurits van der Sluis, adding “Our goal is always to support exhibition and conference organizers in making their event a success and a meaningful experience for exhibitors and visitors alike."
Maurits van der Sluis continues, "We are honored to have won this award after almost two years of lockdown when RAI Amsterdam became the largest COVID-19 vaccination site in the Netherlands. It has been a challenge and a privilege to reopen our convention center for events in 2022 completely."
Annual home base
Maurits van der Sluis stated, “Resuming all our business activities at full capacity enabled us to contribute to and become the annual home base again for trade exhibitions like IBC, Money2020, and PLMA’s World Private Label. We also welcome major scientific congresses to Amsterdam such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Dutch Trauma Days medical conference. Being named Best International Venue is a tribute to all who have worked so hard to get the RAI back in business.”
RAI Amsterdam welcomes the world
The flexible configuration at RAI Amsterdam makes it possible to host every kind of event. Trade shows like the international B2B Offshore Energy exhibition and European Women in Tech are interspersed with smaller events, theatre, and other shows such as the PAN art fair, the Masters Expo lifestyle event, the Winter Paradise festival, and the Kingsland dance event on Kings Day.
A further remarkable sign of the return of dynamic economic activities in 2022 is the fact that the RAI Hotel Services department booked some five million euros of accommodation in the nhow Amsterdam RAI hotel located next to the convention center.
Exhibition News
Exhibition News is one of the pioneering trade magazines for the exhibition, conference, and events industry. The category ‘Best International Venue’ was open to all large international exhibition venues with 10,000 sqm or more floor space that attracts major international events.
In addition to winning the Best International Venue award, it is noteworthy that we were also nominated for Best Company Culture.
