Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) has announced its flagship conference for event professionals, Evolve, will return in 2021 with a hybrid event based in Melbourne.

The one-day conference will take place on Thursday 1 July at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, with a welcome function the evening prior, before more than 18 plenary and concurrent sessions, and the annual MEA Awards Dinner.

Satellite events will be held in Sydney and Brisbane, alongside a virtual hub operated by EventsAir’s OnAir platform.

More than 500 in-person attendees are expected to attend the conference, which will be framed by the theme ‘Building confidence through best practice’.

MEA chair Nigel Collin said the industry is eager to get back to what they do best: face-to-face events.

“The industry is looking for leadership and support through recovery with relevant and timely information,” he said.

“Evolve is here to deliver that through its program.”

MEA will work with the City of Melbourne and Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) to deliver the event.

“Actions speak louder than words,” said MCB chief executive Julia Swanson.

“If we’re really serious about driving recovery of our sector, we need to lead by example, and reconnect and reengage in-person at business events.

“With that front of mind, we look forward to seeing the events sector gather here in Melbourne at the live hub of Evolve 2021.”

Tickets for MEA Evolve 2021 are now available online.