Over 100 events professionals attended the third annual Meetings Industry Forum at London's Tower Bridge Hotel on Friday 10 September.

Hosted by the Meetings, Events and Communications division of Grass Roots, the Meetings Industry Forum (MIF) is designed to promote best practice. Seven headline presentations were intended to spark thought and interaction among meetings professionals, with topics ranging from how to inspire talent through events and the latest hotel sector research, to securing engagement & compliance and contingency planning to cope with disasters.

HSBC chief economist Dennis Turner set the scene for the day with his lively presentation on the economic, political and social climate and was among speakers from brands including Castrol, KPMG, British Airways, Royal Bank of Scotland and Intercontinental Hotels Group. Representatives from Visit London and the Greater London Authority also shared their thoughts on what will be the Olympic legacy, describing how the 2012 games will raise awareness of London as an events destination worldwide and challenging the events industry to act now to ensure lasting impact.

Sharing a view on The Future of the Meetings and Events, Grass Roots' head of global events Nick Bender said: "Today's ‘always on' culture is filtering through to the events industry. As time on delegates becomes increasingly pressurised, events professionals will now more than ever need to put the delegate first. As a result, more personalised agendas will be created and events will need to be more memorable.

"Events of the future will be more interactive, with delegates driving more of the content and deciding what information they want to receive as well as how they want to receive it. We will also see far more remote attendance and interaction from delegates owing to the use of technology such as live video streaming to desktop & across multiple event locations becoming more main stream and the use of virtual conferencing.

"The Grass Roots Meetings Industry Forum has established a reputation for leading thought and debate in the events arena, as well as promoting best practice. We are always delighted that so many meetings and events professionals come together to network and share expertise."

The Grass Roots Meetings Industry Forum concluded with a networking session and technology showcase including miniature hologram speakers, augmented reality, 3D video technology and multi-touch interactive tables.