A globally-renowned event, Sibos 2019 London was the biggest Sibos yet, attracting a record number of over 11,000 delegates and featuring 600+ speakers, 300+ exhibitors, and 300+ conference sessions.
Sibos is the world’s premier financial services event and in its 41st year last year, SWIFT tapped FIRST to deliver all of the conference production elements. The annual conference and exhibition brings together business leaders, executives, decision-makers, and thought leaders from around the globe. “With more than 11,000 delegates, hundreds of exhibitors, and sessions packed with inspiring speakers, with the help of FIRST Sibos remains the place to be to shape financial services into the future.” – Chantal Van Es, Head of Sibos.
SWIFT partnered with FIRST to build on the rich history of Sibos success, to provide impeccable delivery, creativity, and innovative ideas, and to position the attendees at the heart of the immersive Sibos journey. From conception to conclusion, FIRST had overall responsibility for all conference production elements including the Main Plenary, all conference rooms and sessions, the Innotribe stage, the Spotlight stage, all live streaming and conference relaying, the Chairpersons Meeting, Sibos TV, digital signage throughout the venue and surrounding public spaces, speaker management, host staffing and management, and the exhibitor and official media services.
Working as an extension of SWIFT’s team, FIRST delivered an opening plenary session that was dubbed “bold, vibrant, audacious, creative, and flawless” by Paul Taylor, Global Head of Marketing and Communications at SWIFT. As the first key touchpoint of the four-day event and the crucial moments that set the scene for what follows, the main plenary sequence delivered on important key messaging and showcasing SWIFT as a future-thinking, industry-leading brand. Choreographed dancers interacted with the onscreen content which centered on the theme of the conference, “thriving in a hyper-connected world”, and kinetic lighting suspended from the ceiling formed part of the emotive visual effects. Responses from some of the 1600 in-person audience and the countless number of online viewers touted the main plenary session as “award-winning”, “quite a show” and “WOW”.
Submersed in the midst of the world-class exhibition space featuring over 300 of the world’s largest banks and technology giants, leading consultants and the most innovative challenger businesses were Conference Rooms 1-5, the Spotlight stage and the Innotribe stage within the Discovery Zone. FIRST encouraged SWIFT to push the boundaries with Conference Rooms 1-5, all custom purpose-built rooms situated within the exhibition halls. Varying room setups housed 300+ conference sessions and provided a platform for speakers to focus on the ability of financial services providers to identify, develop and strengthen connections. One ‘in-the-round’ style conference room positioned the speakers at the heart of the audience to deliver with impact.
FIRST collaborated on producing and managing the captivating onscreen content for the Innotribe stage situated within the Discovery Zone, which flowed from the main exhibition floor. Innotribe told a story of the future of finance with the help of compelling keynote speakers including Brian Cox, Paul de Gelder, Brett King, and Dave Birch.
A brand new addition to Sibos, the Spotlight stage defied the risks of having a large stage open to the exhibition floor due to its strategically designed set and stage. FIRST developed a look and feel that allowed for easily accessible content that was delivered in short sessions, all in quick succession. With the stages engrossed positioning and the sound design that avoided noise overflowing to surrounding exhibitors, the Spotlight initiative attracted and engaged a high number of delegates.
SWIFT, FIRST, and all of the incredible partners fostered an environment where the future of the financial industry was being shaped and Sibos 2019 London resulted in being record-breaking;
– 11,000+ delegates
– 169,000+ contact exchanges
– 8,600+ app users
– 52,000+ sibos.com users
– 200+ live streamed sessions on YouTube
