Azura Events

15/05/2026

I've just returned from a fantastic few days in Berlin for the World Muscle Society Programme Committee meeting and what a productive visit it was!

Together with the committee, we reviewed nearly 900 submitted abstracts to shape the programme for the WMS 2026 Congress, taking place in Hiroshima, Japan from 29 September to 3 October 2026.

If you're planning to join us, I'd strongly encourage you to register soon - spaces are limited and we'd love to see you there:

https://www.wms2026.com/page/registration

A huge thanks, to all of the committee members for making the last few days so enjoyable and of course my amazing team who worked so hard to make it all possible.

06/05/2026

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the ABPCO Festival of Learning and taking part in a really engaging panel discussion:

Food for Thought: Closing the Gaps for Dietary Inclusion (alongside Lori Cobley and Clare Timms, chaired by Anita Macdonald from Meet Cambridge).

In our session on dietary requirements, a few themes stood out:

➡️Breakdowns in communication at every stage - planning, handover, and delivery

➡️ Attendees often feeling like an afterthought, having to chase or explain their needs

➡️ A lack of consistency, leading to uncertainty and risk

I’ve been reflecting on one of the questions I was asked after the session:

“Where do you think it falls down the most?”

My answer - the serving and waiting staff. Mostly through no fault of their own.

They’re the final point of contact, the ones who shape the attendee experience in real time, yet often have the least information, training, and awareness.

Now that the toolkit and checklist has been launched - www.meet-cambridge.com/events-services/sustainable-events-toolkit/equity-diversity-and-inclusion-edi-in-events/managing-dietary-requirements-at-events/ it’s a big step forward - bringing clearer processes, shared language, and better collaboration with the venues and catering suppliers.

However, tools alone aren’t enough.

If we want to truly improve the experience, we need to better support the people delivering it on the ground. That means more effective, engaging training for frontline teams - building both confidence and understanding.

Where do you see the biggest gaps in delivering a great attendee experience?

Thank you to everyone who came to the session and supported putting it together as well as www.simoncallaghanphotography.com/ for the photos.

29/04/2026

On my way to the ABPCO Festival of Learning 2026 this morning, and the views from the train are incredible. I feel so lucky to be living in South Devon, especially when the weather is like this. Perfect inspiration ahead of the sessions I’m involved with tomorrow (Thursday 30 April)!

11:05 – Let’s Fix Networking Together!
Exploring how event professionals can design networking experiences that work for everyone, using evidence, empathy, and creativity.

13:30 – Food for Thought: Closing the Gaps for Dietary Inclusion
The first public launch of tools designed to help set a new standard for dietary inclusivity.

Looking forward to some brilliant conversations over the next couple of days - I hope to see some of you there!

14/04/2026

Clare Beach, Managing Director of Azura Events, is excited to be part of an Evolve Webinar panel discussing how neuroinclusion drives event success this Thursday.
Register to attend here:
https://www.theevolvecommunity.org/event-details/evolve-webinar-design-for-everyone-how-neuroinclusion-drives-event-success

25/02/2026

It was an early start from South Devon to London this morning for a couple of days of meetings and networking at International Confex .
So great to meet up with old friends and new 🙏

13/02/2026

Some site visits almost organise themselves, with local teams so experienced running events like ours that the process becomes almost formulaic. Our site visit to New Delhi, India for WMS 2028 was a different story.

We arrived with a blank canvas. We had yet to secure a venue and needed to address client concerns about safety, security, air quality, and the overall delegate experience. Over five intense days, we visited three congress venues, nine hotels, and more restaurants and group activity venues than you would expect on the Grand Tour!

But what made this trip invaluable wasn't just the logistics. We invested time building the relationships that will underpin this event's success.

We took the time to get to know our local accommodation coordinator, who will be instrumental in supporting our delegates' needs.

We met with two potential DMCs who will guide us through the nuances of delivering an event in Delhi.

We tested local guides and activities firsthand, so we can confidently offer these experiences to delegates.

And, most importantly, we spent quality time with the local organising committee so we can make sure the 2028 Congress reflects the vision they had when they submitted their bid to host back in 2024.

Like all successful site visits, we left with more than a plan. We secured a venue, developed a picture of what the event will look like, gathered all the information we need to address our clients' concerns, and we built the foundation of trust and understanding with our local partners that will be vital as we navigate the complexities of delivering a world-class congress.

We already can't wait to get back to India as we prepare for WMS 2028.

12/12/2025

Well, you certainly can't say we're not a full-service agency! In this recent example of quite literally going the extra mile(s), Clare transported the World Muscle Society statue from her home in Devon to the new WMS President, Laurent Servais, at his workplace in Oxford.

Clare presented Laurent with the statue in front of his colleagues at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he, quite rightly, enjoyed rapturous applause. You can always count on an events specialist to turn the simplest moment into a moment to remember!

26/11/2025

Wow! What a few weeks it has been. On 11th October, we wrapped up WMS 2025 for the World Muscle Society in Vienna. It was a very special 30th anniversary Congress with 1,500 delegates from 80 countries. We had a team of 10 on the ground in Austria, managing every element of the Congress, from registration and catering to streaming the scientific sessions live via a specially customised virtual platform. We managed venue relations, filming and photography, 700+ posters, 100+ speakers, an Executive Board meeting with a live election and a spectacular industry exhibition. We coordinated anniversary celebrations, a live sporting demonstration, multiple committee meetings and a live prize ceremony.

And earlier this month, we wrapped up another event, MYO-MRI+, a smaller, specialist scientific Conference with 150 delegates. There were just two of us on the ground, with the rest of the team supporting from home. We still managed all the elements of the Conference, just on a smaller scale.

These really are the two ends of the spectrum of the work we do, but I'm extremely proud that no matter the scale of the event, the Azura team always brings its "A" game and creates valuable and memorable events for our delegates.

16/10/2025

After a few days of hard-earned rest and a break from emails and meetings it’s wonderful to reflect on all the discussions, meetings, achievements, milestones, learning points, challenges, collaborations and celebrations from last week. It really was an immense week and a real privilege to do all of that alongside such a wonderful team. Thank you for being awesome and for all your hard work, dedication and commitment. I appreciate you 🙏
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The 30th annual Congress of the World Muscle Society broke records for people and for the number of presentations, but it's the personal experiences that mat...

16/10/2025

Hugely proud of the efforts and progress we’ve made to acknowledge and support our delegates with dietary restrictions, covered in part of this film.
Our aim is to deliver events where anyone can come along knowing that they won’t be made to feel like an inconvenience or a burden. We’ve got lots still to learn and implement, particularly when working with international suppliers but every action is still a step in the right direction which is better than no action at all. This applies to all our accessibility and inclusion initiatives.

One of the most important aspects of WMS Congresses, beyond the science, is the networking. Delegates travel from all over the world to meet with people who ...