In part two of our 'Building a Career in the Events Industry' series, we put the spotlight on two operational events specialists at the pinnacle of their careers who highlight their passion for the fast-paced industry and the ‘buzz’ of creating incredible experiences.

Samantha Pike-Devlin is joined by Caroline Rogers, Major Events Specialist and Sports Director, who was most recently Head of Villages and Venues at Team England working on the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Sarah Bickerton, Director of Operations and Event Delivery at Manchester Central.

Caroline and Sarah chat to Samantha about their career development, what they love about the event industry and the advice they would give to anyone wishing to pursue a career in events.

  Connect with Caroline and Sarah:  Caroline | Sarah

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

It’s no secret that over the last few years, the event industry has taken a hit when it comes to retaining talent due to the uncertainty that the pandemic brought to live events.

So, as one of the UK’s leading event venues, we wanted to shine a light on the topic and do our bit to showcase the many different roles that are available within the industry and share some steps to building your career as an event professional! 

In this episode, Samantha Pike-Devlin is joined by Lucy Pittaway, Senior Events Management Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and Rebecca Levett, who completed the placement year of her events management degree at Manchester Central and is now Event Manager and Host at Routes – organiser of world-renowned airline and airport networking events.

Lucy and Rebecca chat to Samantha about each step of the process - from education and training to developing and furthering skillsets. 

  Find out more about MMU Events: Website | Twitter 

  Connect with Lucy and Rebecca:  Lucy | Rebecca

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

After a few months break, we’re back! 

We’re so excited to continue chatting to guests about getting back to business and how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience live events.

This is a particularly special episode, as not only is it relaunching the series, but it features a guest that we were extremely excited to get the chance to talk to… the new leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig.

Our guest host and CEO, Shaun Hinds, joined Bev to chat all things Manchester; how she feels about being the first female and openly gay council leader, the reasons why she continues to call the city home having grown up in Northern Ireland, and of course, her ambitions for the city.

  Find out more about Manchester City Council and Bev: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

In this new series, hear us chat to guests about how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience live events. 

As 2021 comes to a close, Samantha takes a look back at the year and recaps on some of the key highlights both at Manchester Central and in the events industry.

The return of live events, the rise of hybrid and virtual, increased awareness of sustainability in the industry... it's been a year to remember.

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

  Find out more about the venue on our website

In this new series, hear us chat to guests about how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience live events. 

In this episode, Samantha Pike-Devlin is  joined by Heather Lishman – Association Director at the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers, more commonly known in the industry as ABPCO.

Heather chats to me about the growth of the association, how they’ve adapted to the changes in the industry with the launch of their new event ‘The Festival of Learning’ and how they are beginning to share their knowledge with non-members.

  Find out more about ABPCO and the Festival of Learning: Website | Twitter

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

In this new series, hear us chat to guests about how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience live events.

Taking over on hosting duties once again is our CEO, Shaun Hinds, who chats to Tim Else - Founder and Managing Director of What Else Events.

Tim has has launched a brand-new event – ‘Safety, Health and Wellbeing Live’ - which will be taking over our Central Hall in February 2022.

He chats to Shaun about how he’s found the process of planning and launching a new event during these times, how he chose the locations and venues for his new event and his view on hybrid and virtual events.

  Find out more about Safety, Health and Wellbeing Live: Website | Twitter |LinkedIn

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

In this new series, hear us chat to guests about how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience live events. 

Hosted by Digital Communications Executive, Samantha Pike-Devlin, the first episode features Jack Thompson - Technical Director at Manchester International Festival (MIF) – the first large-scale event that we hosted at the venue after reopening in July this year. 

Jack chats to Manchester Central about how he and his team felt on the opening night of the festival, how they adapted their event planning process to ensure the festival went ahead and their exciting new event space opening next year.

  Find out more about MIF: Website | Twitter | Instagram

  Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

  Find out more about the venue on our website

Manchester Central is back, events are back and now we’re back with a new series of Central Chat!

Last year, we recorded a run of episodes for series two that focused on understanding how event professionals and local businesses continued to do business during a global pandemic.

… but now that we’re getting back to business and events have returned, we want this upcoming series to focus on the unrivalled of experience of live events.

Central Chat: Now We’re Talking with...’ will hear us speak to guests about how it feels to once again plan, attend and experience the buzz of an in-person event again and any learnings they have for other event professionals.

We've put the spotlight back on Manchester Central!

Having spent 12-months as an NHS Nightingale Hospital, supporting the UK’s fight against COVID-19, Manchester Central is now in the process of being transformed back to a world-class events venue.

The venue’s facilities management team have been working tirelessly over the last few months to restore the iconic Manchester Central spaces to their original state; working with contractors to remove the hospital infrastructure and ensuring that all venue facilities are fully reinstated, ready to welcome the return of events.  

Digital Communications Executive and Central Chat host, Samantha Pike-Devlin, returned to Manchester Central earlier this month to speak to some of the team onsite to find out what they’ve been working on, how they feel about being back and what they’re most looking forward to about the venue re-opening next month.

 Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

 Find out more about the venue on our website

 If you have an interesting story to tell about how you or your business have shifted focus or if you have any views on hot topics in the event industry at the moment then get in touch with podcast host, Samantha Pike-Devlin on [email protected].

Welcome to the next of our special 'guest host' feature episodes!

Our CEO Shaun takes the mic to chat to Holly Moore – CEO and Founder of local live events and brand communications agency, Make Events. 

The Make Events team have worked with big name clients including Puma, Vimto, Twitter, Autotrader, Booking.com, ITV, BetFred and Kellogg’s and since the start of the pandemic, they have pivoted to provide for even more clients.

Holly chats to Shaun about how the pandemic led to an expansion of the business beyond just events, how they recently hosted their own ‘Make Events Show’ to showcase their virtual event offering and how they’re managing business in 2021.

 Find out more about Make Events: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

 Find out more about Holly Moore: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

 Follow Manchester Central: Twitter | Instagram

 Find out more about the venue on our website

 If you have an interesting story to tell about how you or your business have shifted focus or if you have any views on hot topics in the event industry at the moment then get in touch with podcast host, Samantha Pike-Devlin on [email protected].