Conference & Meetings World Issue 101 — July / August | Page 37

St Petersburg
Russia’s Northern window
on the meetings world
PAUL COLSTON SHINES A NORTHERN EVENT LIGHT ON PETER’S CITY
t Petersburg is one of the most
beautiful cities in the world, the
cultural capital of Russia, and the
largest Northern city. A former
capital, it is also the second biggest Russian
city and inhabited by over five million people.
The Venice of the North sits at the centre of
an intersection of sea, river, and land routes
and is not only an acclaimed tourist centre
(8.3m visited the city last year – a figure Elena
Volodkevich of the city’s Tourist Information
Bureau expects “only to grow”), but the largest
transport hub in Russia’s North West.
With a modern airport at Pulkovo, the city
can now be reached from most European
capitals in under four hours. St Petersburg is
also accessible by cruise ships via the Baltic.
And visitors disembarking from ships can visit
the city without a visa for up to 72 hours.
Alexander Martynov of the city’s Tourism
Committee admitted to CMW the visa
question was still “a big challenge”, but said
conversations were “ongoing”, noting that a
special fan I.D. visa waiver for the 2018 FIFA
World Cup had been particularly successful,
with half a million footballer fans using them.
The visa question is certainly being
addressed at the very top: President Putin,
speaking in parliament in February, urged
lawmakers to look at the possibility of
introducing e-visas.
For delegates keen to just get ‘in and out’
fast, the huge and modern Expoforum
convention complex is close to Pulkovo,
together with its on-site Hilton hotel.
For those keen to sample the city’s delights,
the historic centre of the city - a UNESCO
World Heritage site – is not to be missed.
The city has 221 museums, 2,000 libraries
and over 80 theatres. Every year the city hosts
over 100 festivals and various art and culture
competitions, including 50 international ones.
And, if your event falls during the White
Nights, then your after-party can go on into
the early hours. Just be sure you don’t get the
wrong side of the bridges when they rise for
the night on many of the islands.
Meeting planners have a range of
non-traditional venues to consider, including
many of the cultural institutions, as well as
Expoforum’s sister venue Lenexpo.
St Petersburg’s Railway Museum is making
a play to host large events and, with 57,000sqm
of space, could provide an unconventional
backdrop for galas or drinks receptions.
The local St Petersburg Chamber of
Commerce, Russia’s oldest chamber, is a useful
portal for organisers looking for information
and also runs 100 events a year itself and gets
involved in many bilateral roadshow events.
The new city CVB, formed in 2014, is
another useful resource and runs a venue and
supplier affiliate programme with 80 members.
St Petersburg boasts over 400 conference
and exhibition halls and 267 organising
companies and agencies are active in the sector,
so the city’s boast of becoming Russia’s MICE
capital is no idle one. Local eventprofs help
manage 300 large events held in the city each
year, including some 30 major rotating events.
The new CVB submitted 18 bids for
international conventions in 2018 and in the
first four months of 2019 put in nine, with high
hopes of clinching a good proportion of those.
Last November, the Northern capital was
chosen as the venue for the 85th international
congress of UFI, the global association of the
exhibition industry.
Big label events upcoming include the 25th
European Veterinary Congress FECAVA (4–7
September 2019), the 43rd Cineposium of the
Association of Film Commissioners
International (13-16 September 2019), The
Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2020, the World
Energy Congress and the International
Mathematical Congress 2022.
As well as the obvious cultural strong suit,
sectors being targeted for events by the city
include medical and research science and I.T.
The city is a member of the Global
Destination Sustainability Index and is
focusing hard on implementing international
environmental standards in its events
infrastructure.
St Petersburg claims to be the most tolerant
city in Russia, with 268 different confessions
and religious associations in the city. For
all Moscow’s frenetic pace and power
appeal, St Petersburg is very much the cultured
cousin.
The Northern window on the world
conferencing has never looked so inviting.
ISSUE 101
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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37