The chief executives of the world’s largest companies are showing a “strong appetite” for in-person conferences taking place in the final three months of the year. Justin B Smith, chief executive of Bloomberg Media, which organises hundreds of events a year, speaking exclusively to The National and the Business Extra podcast, said that the company has "identified a very, very strong appetite for engaging in person again” following a period of mostly online-only conferences amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He also discusses key topics on the agenda for Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Singapore in November, including China-US relations and climate change.

Business Extra co-hosts Mustafa Alrawi and Kelsey Warner unpack what in-person events could look like post-pandemic, drawing from Mr Smith's insights.

In this episode:

Justin B Smith on demand for live events (1m 15s)

The New Economy Forum's task at hand (5m 53s)

New Economy Forum's view on the China-US relations (11m 27s)

Tech companies and global regulations (13m 13s)

Will in-person events come back? (15m 27s)

Read more on our website:

• Bloomberg's New Economy Forum to be held in Singapore

• ATM 2021: Top travel and tourism players convene in Dubai to map future of industry

• Expo 2020 Dubai is a 'beacon of hope' as thousands of deals to bring the world to the UAE are signed

• World Economic Forum cancels 2021 annual meeting

Subscribe to Business Extra for free to receive new episodes every week

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Audioboom | Spotify | RSS