After months of hype and an aggressive marketing campaign across Asia, organisers today announced the cancellation of the October event.

C2 International today announced it has cancelled its C2 Melbourne event, which was scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in October. The news comes only a week after C2 International’s Asia Pacific CEO, Martin Enault, stepped down from the top job.

The event had been lauded for its innovative approach to business and networking with ‘Learning Labs’ that see delegates jumping into ball pits, meeting in the dark, or hanging above the show floor in seats suspended from the ceiling.

The creative event format, which has had huge success in Canada with C2 Montreal, seems to have hit a snag in Melbourne, with organisers stating the event was no longer viable.

C2 Montreal

In a statement, C2 International president and CEO, Richard St-Pierre, says: “While we demonstrated our deep commitment to bringing C2 Melbourne to life, a series of circumstances outside of our control made it impossible for us to execute on the creation of the event.”

Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO, Karen Bolinger, says the bureau is disappointed about the decision, but will continue to “take risks” and seek out opportunities for innovation.

“Whilst we are surprised and disappointed to have received the news of the cancellation of C2 Melbourne, we have been advised that it is in the best interests of Melbourne, our stakeholders, partners and prospective attendees,” she says.“The decision to enter into a relationship with C2 was all about being brave, innovative and trying new things.”

“We know that as a conference destination we need to evolve to ensure the conference experience exceeds the progressive expectations of delegates. We will continue to take risks and seek out opportunities for innovation and disruption in the conference market.”

Join our newsletter!

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest updates from Kongres Magazine.