As a thank you to the MICE industry for its support since the cancellation of IMEX Frankfurt, the IMEX team has created a brand-new virtual experience—PlanetIMEX.

Launching May 6th, PlanetIMEX is a destination in its own right featuring three interactive 3D islands, each created using principles borrowed from the world of online gaming.

Visitors to PlanetIMEX will be granted unlimited, free access to a variety of content and activities on three islands: a beach-themed Community Island; a forest-inspired Education Island; and a Networking Island characterized by canyons, mountains and valleys.

Although the execution is light-hearted, each island has a serious purpose. The intention is to keep the spirit of IMEX alive by allowing visitors to explore, reconnect, talk future business and continue learning in the company of friends and colleagues from the global business events community.

“We decided early on that we wanted to gift something back to the industry we love while continuing our commitment to providing high-quality education, business and networking value. Rather than switch to a one-off online event, in true IMEX fashion we opted for innovation through transformation! Instinctively we looked to our Nature Talking Point for inspiration,” says Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group.

“PlanetIMEX is, therefore, a fresh and original concept with a visual charm that pays tribute to the exhibitors who always make our shows look so appealing. We’ve combined education, community, and business introductions with wellbeing, including some old favourites such as #imexstillrunning. All of this takes place in a new ‘magical place and space’ which we hope the industry will appreciate and value. That said, like many others in our industry, this has been—and remains—a learning curve. We’ve jumped right in to try something new and we’re excited to learn, refine and enrich it over time.”

PlanetIMEX goes live on May 6 when both Community Island and Education Island open to industry visitors. Education programming starts on EduMonday (May 11th) with a day of education and interactive content, starting with a keynote by Guy Bigwood, managing director of the Global Destination Sustainability Index. Bigwood is also the lead on the IMEX Nature Talking Point research, supported exclusively by Marriott International, and set to be launched later this year.

Tuesday, May 12 will be IMEX Community Day, with content delivered by a range of IMEX’s association and other partners. It will also include the IMEX-MPI Future Leaders Forum.

On Thursday, May 14,  IMEX Introductions will encourage industry buyers and suppliers to explore potential new business relationships and spark up one-to-one conversations.

And on Monday, May 18, PlanetIMEX will provide specialist content aimed at specific buyer communities, including a new interpretation of Exclusively Corporate, the Agency Directors Forum and Association Focus.

The education platform on PlanetIMEX has been generously designed and developed by sponsors, Cvent.

“All of us at Cvent are incredibly proud to be partnering with IMEX to help them bring this extraordinary online experience to life. As longtime leaders in the meetings and events space, IMEX Group is dedicated to helping everyone in the industry make connections that matter,” says Patrick Smith, CMO, Cvent. “While the in-person experience at IMEX in Frankfurt will be greatly missed this year, our teams have collaborated to create a unique and deeply engaging virtual environment. While nothing can replace meeting face-to-face, it’s important that as industry leaders, we make the best of this current situation, and to be able to help IMEX deliver their great content to their global audience in an interactive, compelling way is really exciting.”

Over time the IMEX Group plans to expand the content, programs and engagement opportunities on PlanetIMEX. Access is free although registration is required for both education content and IMEX Introductions.