that will put the city under the global spotlight in coming years, like the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Since hosting Expo 2015, the city has repeatedly shown its talents for hosting large-scale international events that have le a positive mark in collective memory, from the Champions League Final in 2016 to the Lions Clubs International Convention in 2019, from the ATP Next Gen tennis tournament in 2019 to medical and scienti c congresses, such as the one of the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Milan will host the 2024 edition of the World Conference in Earthquake Engineering (WCEE), with about 5,000 delegates expected at the MiCo Convention Centre. “We are really happy with this result, which con rms that Italy represents an excellence in the international scienti c scenario and a reliable conference destination” says Flaminia Roberti, global sales director of AIMGroup International. “At a time of great di culty that hit the meetings industry hard, we are concentrating all our e orts on innovation to support companies and associations in the digital transformation that can give continuity to their educational and social initiatives. is victory galvanizes us: we look to the future with optimism, waiting for putting our passion back into the organisation of big events with our cities as the ideal stage.” With the global industry in full restructuring mode, Milan aims to consolidate its position in Europe as the principal gateway to Italian lifestyle, while promoting a distinctive vision for sustainable and inclusive urban development. e goal is to bring Milan into the Top 10 of the ICCA rankings by 2023. A further factor in determining the dynamics of the sector is the exponential growth of digital events, which is bound to remain signi cant in terms of market share. Also in this respect, Milan has been laying the foundations to become a vanguard city for digital innovation at the forefront of European recovery, from early investments in the development of 5G to bre optic networks covering the whole city.
Updates
Rocco Forte is set to launch its first Milan property, a new five-star hotel that will welcome guests in 2023 after a full refurbishment. The new hotel will offer approximately 70 rooms and suites, a restaurant and lounge bar, a full wellness centre with gym and spa topped by a rooftop panoramic bar with panoramic views over the city. A new Gran Meliá hotel is opening in the city centre in 2023. The five-star hotel will be the result of the complete refurbishment and restoration of the historic Palazzo Venezia, one of the most recognisable buildings in Piazza Cordusio, just a few metres from Piazza del Duomo in the centre of Milan
The hotel brand citizenM has confirmed plans to expand into Italy with properties in both Rome and Milan this year or next.
mitmagazine.co.uk MAY 2021 77
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