Revamped Sava Center poised to host first event in November

The largest convention centre in Belgrade and the former largest convention centre in Europe is a living encyclopedia of Belgrade’s modern history. Sava Centre was built in a record time of six months to host the drawn-out OSCE 1977 conference, which lasted for eight months. Belgrade was enriched with the most modern and largest convention centre in Europe almost by chance, as Marshal Tito requested a new venue for events. Considered a technological wonder, the convention centre followed a wave of similar convention centres built worldwide.

The architect, Stojan Maksimović, designed a functionally timeless, minimalist project with glass surfaces spanning 8,500 square metres. He also designed the adjacent hotel, once part of the Intercontinental hotel chain. Today, the hotel is home to Crowne Plaza Hotel, part of Delta Group. Stojan Maksimović received a myriad of international accolades for his impressive post-modernistic work. The design of the Sava Centre was pioneering and trendsetting and inspired other European convention centres later. Unfortunately, the superb design had several drawbacks they did not know how to address. The vast glass surfaces used a lot of energy and were demanding to maintain.

From its opening in 1977, Sava Center welcomed over 1.6 million visitors, who attended over seven thousand congresses and conferences. Yet, towards the end of the century, the convention centre could not match its competition anymore. After several complications, Delta Group took over the management in 2021 and immediately began renovating the deteriorated building. The entire investment into the holistic revamp of the conference, business and shopping complex, spanning over 100,000 square metres, is estimated at 100 million EUR. According to recent estimates, the convention centre will open in November 2023. The first scheduled congress will be the 14th European Nutrition Conference ENC-FENS 2023 between 14 and 17 November. Over 1,000 attendees will attend.

Evaluations from MTLG assessors about meeting destinations further outline the differences and similarities between the three cities.

The mighty Danube is the most abundant river in New Europe and its symbolic economic backbone, connecting 19 countries and 83 million people. Unsurprisingly, If you follow the current of the imposing river, you will see the passing skylines of the most important regional destinations. The Danube is the aorta of the region, while Belgrade is its heart. The city is still incomparable to Central European cities such as Vienna or Budapest. Belgrade is much more like Athens or Berlin. The Berlin of the Balkans is a city that continuously surprises with new extraordinary venues, buzzing nightlife and the infinite energy of its residents. Belgrade is actually the only metropolis in the former Yugoslavia. Authentic Serbian hospitality and kindness make Belgrade a unique regional outpost. Still, you should not expect polished infrastructure and a clear, one-sided perception of the country’s history. Its citizens are not always on the same page, yet Belgrade has a vibrant, colourful and sometimes bohemian soul. That is one of the reasons event attendees will feel great here. The renovated Sava Centre will play an important role, too.

Best practices in Belgrade: Revision of the Non-Aligned Movement alluring investors, vibrant nightlife, good air accessibility, solid hotel accommodation and ambitious bid policy to win conferences

Zagreb is home to the oldest regional convention bureau with an impressive history. The city also has a well-developed platform of service providers. Alongside scientific congresses, Zagreb hosts numerous incentive groups supported by local DMCs. This segment quickly developed after the coronavirus pandemic was over. Compared to Ljubljana and Belgrade, Zagreb has a better ratio between hotel rooms and congress capacities. Its air accessibility, airport quality and ambitious plan to host global events make it stand out. One such event is the WRC Rally, which will take place in Croatia for the next three years. The city is also developing its own events, such as Advent, Festival of Lights, etc. Zagreb offers much more than classic meeting hotels and more than meets the eye. The city’s unique venues are most impressive. Zagreb probably has most such venues across the region. Still, a convention centre is missing in the city. Despite the promising predictions, we are still waiting for the foundations to be built. The Zagreb Fair, once the central regional hub for congresses, is a shadow of its former self.

Best practices in Zagreb: Advocacy for organising large events and festivals, good content marketing, several sports events and a unified brand of Zagreb and the region.

One of Ljubljana’s key advantages is its range of experiences, thanks to the country’s biodiversity and initiatives to preserve nature and make it accessible to all. The sustainable tourism strategy in Ljubljana has also prompted a respectful and positive approach towards regeneration. In addition, the city prides itself on the heritage of the illustrious architect Jože Plečnik. On top of that, Ljubljana is still an undiscovered meeting destination. Its incredible stories and meeting infrastructure will amaze even the most demanding event organisers. The offer is well-connected, in large part because of the proactivity of the Ljubljana Convention Bureau. Also, the city offers good value for money. Attendees will feel like they are in their living room when visiting because the city is human-centric. One of the city’s advantages is the feeling of safety, which participants appreciate. Not least, the professionalism of service providers and the partners at the destination ensures every event runs smoothly.

Best practices in Ljubljana: Ljubljana edges out its competition thanks to innovative marketing campaigns, which helped the Slovenian outpost win the ICCA Best Marketing Award. In addition, the city’s marketing events, such as Conventa and Conventa Crossover, give Ljubljana a competitive advantage.

COMPARISON OF ICCA RANKINGS

The only comprehensive statistical report in the meetings industry is prepared by the International Congress and Convention Association every spring. The report brings valuable insight into the market of international scientific organisations and associations. ICCA’s Europe Ranking has an important impact on the market, as it ranks countries and destinations according to popularity. Still, the ranking has drawbacks, as it does not include all the events a destination hosts, let alone all the corporate, economic, governmental and incentive events that are an integral part of the global meetings industry. Hence, the ICCA ranking is only one of the criteria when comparing and evaluating destinations. Nonetheless, it tells a lot about a destination’s development and is considered a benchmark in its own right.

If we consider the data, the reopening of the Sava Centre will not bring significant changes in the following fields:

1. The ratio between the number of hotel rooms and conference capacities is excellent in all three cities. It will not change significantly with Sava Centre back on the market.

2. There is a shortage of venues for large banquet events, especially in Belgrade and Ljubljana. The reopening of the Sava Centre won’t change this, as it will not include vast banquet halls.

3. In all three destinations, there is still a need for an expansive, well-equipped, multifunctional hall that will span at least 4,000 square metres. Such a hall would make all three destinations more competitive. They could also host banquet events and receptions, which are still problematic in terms of infrastructure. The ideal ratio between a hall’s capacity for a plenary meeting (theatre setting) and a banquet should be 60%. Belgrade thus requires a banquet hall for up to 2,400 attendees (currently 1,500).

Sava Centre will bring the following changes:

1. The size and complexity of the halls will enable the Sava Centre to host the largest global and European scientific conferences. The 46 halls stretching 100,000 square metres will put Belgrade in the top tier of destinations between the Baltics and the Balkans.

2. Ljubljana and Zagreb have smaller capacities for large events. In Ljubljana, poor air accessibility exacerbates that problem, while, in Zagreb, a conference centre is missing.

3. We are expecting the new convention centre to start a marketing revolution. Delta Group knows how to create compelling marketing campaigns, and they will not leave anything to chance. As most conference centres in regional destinations are public institutions, they will have trouble keeping pace with Sava Centre.

4. We believe Sava Centre’s technological advancement will attract even the most demanding event organisers. One of the first halls of its kind in the region will offer an immersive experience, which was until now only available at art exhibitions such as the Vincent Van Gogh expo, hosted in Graz this summer.

If we consider the excellent air accessibility of Belgrade, then we can expect a fierce fight to win bids to host global scientific congresses. In recent years, Ljubljana, with two conference centres, hosted most of them.

An integral part of Sava Centre’s success formula will be the price policy (still undisclosed). This year will go down in history as the year of unpredictable growth of prices, breaking records set in the past three decades. Our research at the start of the year showed that the price policies we knew before were much more fragile, flexible and uncertain than we thought. Everything can change overnight. When event organisers plan congresses and events up to four years in advance, they take considerate financial risks. Our research showed that meeting venues benefit if they raise prices according to the Consumer Price Index. Many regional conference centres have exceeded them, unfortunately.

Thus, we are eager to learn what Sava Centre’s price policy will be. It can change the situation on the market entirely, especially if they alter the prices of the events industry. If the management considers the clients and the rising prices of the competition when creating their price policy, they will convince many event organisers. We believe creating a thought-out price policy is strategically important for Sava Centre before its inauguration.

The region will irrevocably change once the entire megaproject of renovating the Sava Centre ends and the conference centre starts hosting events regularly.

In essence, event organisers are cautious and will host their event where the prices are comparable with the competition. Destinations and conference centres that offer flexible reservation terms, lower prices in the off-season and can guarantee fixed prices will profit.

The iconic Sava Centre is thus opening its doors in less than a month. We will send our hidden congress guest to Belgrade to evaluate how well the architects have succeeded in revamping the convention centre.