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Breaking the ice with history
From August 24th to 26th, Grupo eventoplus, the only Spanish media present, participated together with 800 meeting professionals in BESTIVAL. The festival began with a welcome cocktail at the Clärchens Balhaus, a ballroom with more than 100 years of history where the high society celebrated in the exclusive Spiegelsaal and other Berliners danced. Its Hall of Mirrors has been preserved in its original state.
Arts, music, culture, innovation… and good vibes
The event’s main programme was held in two venues located across the street from one another. The morning began at the auditorium of KINO International, one of the famous cinema monuments located on the previous East Berlin, with keynote sessions and a “Science Slam” where the audience voted the best science projects presented. The highlight of the morning was Jocelyn B. Smith, a singer from New York who has called Berlin home. She shared her story, both motivational and inspirational, and sang various of her compositions.
The afternoon continued at Café Moskau with a diverse programme of informal presentations, a pop-up art gallery, dance performances, fashion corner,… The conference centre was the first Socialist residential complex built to symbolise the brotherhood between DDR and the Soviet Union. It was definitely a busy afternoon!
Participants winded down to an outdoor evening at the Badeschiff (Arena Berlin) with music, food and also the opportunity to participate in the Single Party “Fisch sucht Fahrrad” adapted for business networking. Boat tours were also available to savour the panoramic views and its surroundings.
Experiencing Berlin
The last day was focused on experiences. Participants could choose from five different theme tours: a “sustainability” walking tour to get an insight into the city’s urban development, art, locations and gastronomy concepts; Glamour & Lifestyle to check out the exclusive culinary and luxurious locations; Wild Berlin to tour along the Spree and explore the hottest clubs and hotspots; Arts & Music to learn the behind the scenes of theatres and a private tour through the Hansa Studios where David Bowie, Depeche Mode and U2 recorded albums; Berlin Innovative to visit a start-up and co-working spaces from technology and artistic fields.
Over 40 suppliers also organised their own events to showcase their offers, and surprises were included!
The evening ended with a bar hop with the partner hotels from rooftop cocktail with views, dinners with shows to BBQ on terraces…
A strong focus on sustainability
BESTIVAL aims to obtain ISO 20212 certification in the coming years. While we didn’t get into the details of the organisation, some of the obvious efforts included the use of public transport where participants were given a Berlin Welcome Card, vegan food was served throughout the days of the event and all drinks were served in glasses or in its original bottles.
BESTIVAL is an interesting event with a format that brings to live the wide variety of experiences where participants can engage with in different parts of the city.
Summary video (published 10/10/2022):
