Events and conferences

Events and conferences contribute money to communities. Not only do travellers spend money on the event or conference itself, but additional dollars are also spent on everything from accommodation to souvenirs. Travellers need to get both to and from the event or conference site, so the transportation sector is also involved. They need to eat, so food and beverage outlets are visited. Conferences usually have social events or entertain­ment planned, so money is spent on tickets, admission, beverages and/or tips. All of this means money is transferred from travellers to the local economy.

Special Events There are a growing number of special events that encourage travellers to go to areas to which they may not otherwise go. Many of these events are so successful that they have become national or international in character. For example, the Brazilian Carnival in Rio is known around the world and has thousands staff members that work year round to put on the event.

There are also large international events that require several years of planning and preparation. For example, hosting Olympic Games employs hundreds of people, many of them for years before the event. Some people become specialists in organizing and running these mega-events, and then move on to another when one is done.

Other international events, which are complex but do not require quite as much advance preparation, are visits by celebrities, such as a member of the Royal Family, a world leader, the Pope or the Rolling Stones. Often celebrities have their own staffs, who work in concert with the local organizers to make the event successful.

There are also thousands of smaller events and fes­tivals organized across each country every year. Many communities organize an annual event to celebrate their history, culture or ethnic roots. Other local events, such as charity fundraisers and sporting events also qualify as important occasions and require staff.

The planning and organizing of any special event can be complex and demanding. All details need to be coordinated so that the event will run efficiently and profitably. There are often many paid positions. As well, many events and confer­ences allow opportunities for volunteers to gain lots of experience.

Conferences, Meetings, Trade Shows and Conventions Business people frequently meet to share methods, ideas, research and information, to solve problems or to develop new strategies or products, and/or to be trained.

In order to meet the needs of convention and meeting delegates, many cities have built large convention centres and exhibition halls. Most large hotels and resorts also cater for the conven­tion and meeting market, offering meeting rooms, ballrooms and catering facilities.

A convention, large meeting or conference takes an enormous amount of work to ensure its success. Some conventions involve 30,000 delegates or more. Large organizations usually hire professional convention/meeting planners who have the special­ized knowledge and skills necessary to ensure large events will run smoothly. These planners generally work with a budget and hire staff to assist them.

So, events, conferences, meetings and conventions are big business to communities but require much work and attention to be properly organized.

Phonetic exercises

III. Mind the letters th pronunciation:

[ ]

the

they

this

these

there

another

[ ]

both

ethnic

method

smoothly

thousand

everything

IV. Read the following sentences:

· I’ll do this then with them.

· This is the thousand and thirty-third method.

· Both these and those themes are something interesting.

· Otherwise, they will think about another method.

Vocabulary Exercises

V. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following:

events and conferences; to contribute money; everything from accommodation to souvenirs; event or conference site; food and beverage outlets; tickets; admission; beverages; tips; national or international in character; to work year round; to host Olympic Games; advance preparation; to make the event successful; across each country; ethnic roots; qualify as important occasion; to run efficiently and profitably; paid positions; complex and demanding; to share methods, ideas, research and information; large convention centres; to hire professional convention/meeting planners; to be properly organized.

VI. Give English equivalents of the following:

витрачати гроші на; визначна подія чи конференція; сектор перевезень (транспортування); заплановані розваги; місцева економіка; зростаюча кількість; заохочувати подорожуючих; відомий у всьому світі; організовувати подію; міжнародні події; візити знаменитостей; члени королівської сім’ї; Папа Римський; місцеві організатори; місцеві події; благодійна подія, спрямована на збір коштів; прибуткова подія; конференція; з’їзд; часто зустрічатися; учасники з’їзду, зборів; величезна кількість роботи; забезпечувати успіх; плавно протікати; наймати робітників.

VII. Fill in the correct word from the list, then make sentences using the completed collocations:

transportation ________

_______________outlets

______________number

Olympic _____________

Royal _______________

ethnic _______________

____________fundraisers

____________experience

_____________problems

convention ___________

exhibition ____________

catering ______________

to run ________________

_______________position

hall, Games, smoothly, centre, sector, food and beverage, paid, facilities, to solve, growing, to gain, family, charity, roots

VIII. Study the following definitions:

Event - something that happens, especially something important, interesting or unusual; a performance, sports competition, party etc. at which people gather together to watch or take part in something

Conference- a large formal meeting where a lot of people discuss important matters such as business, politics, or science, especially for several days

Convention - a large formal meeting for people who belong to the same profession or organization or who have the same interests

Meeting - an event at which people meet to discuss and decide things

Trade show- a large event when several companies show their goods or services in one place, to try to sell them

IX. Complete the sentences using the words and word combinations from the previous exercise:

1. This good’s price was $ 2, 000 at a Chicago__________.

2. They are going to organize a _________for science fiction fans.

3. Representatives from over 100 countries attended the International Peace ____________ in Geneva.

4. The conference was an important social ___________.

5. We're having a staff __________ next week to discuss the matter.

X. Choose synonyms for the following words and learn them:

conference	large	event	contribute	put on	international

symposium • occurrence •meeting • outsized • donate • global • arrange • convention• prepare • great• multinational • huge • give • worldwide • organize• intercontinental • incident • put in • discussion • happening • make a payment • phenomenon • big • fix • forum • add • enormous

XI. Make the sentences complete by translating the phrases into English:

1. We moved on to іншого харчового закладу; другого сектору туризму, а саме транспортування; великої міжнародної події; краще оплачуваної роботи; роботи з бюджетом.

2. They worked in concert with членами королівської сім’ї; учасниками конференції; добровольцями; місцевими спеціалістами; етнічним населенням.

3. He contributed much to зростання кількості особливих подій; заохочення подорожей туристів; прийняття Олімпійських ігор; організацію та проведення цієї події; забезпечення успіху; узгодження всіх деталей; плавне протікання конференції

XII. Complete the following sentences with the necessary prepositions:

1. Tourists spend big sums of money ___ souvenirs for friends and relatives. 2. We tried to put ___ this event, but it turned out to be not so easy. 3. Those meeting planners are real specialists ___ this business. 4. She has to move ___ and ___ the convention site all the time. 5. This money will be transferred ___ the charity fundraisers ___ the local community. 6. She contributed a lot of efforts ___ this demanding task. 7. Is this event international ___ character? 8. We’ll have to move ___ ___ another mega-event when this one is done. 9. I worked ___ concert ___ their staff.

XIII. Translate into English:

1. Суспільство отримує багато грошей завдяки визначним подіям та конференціям. 2. Гроші витрачаються не тільки на квитки та вхід, а також на проживання, проїзд, їжу та напої. 3. Туристи витратили тисячі доларів на сувеніри під час цієї події. 4. Це була дуже успішна подія, тому з часом вона стала популярною та відомою у всьому світі. 5. Ми поїдемо на бразильський карнавал цього року. 6. Яка країна приймає наступні Олімпійські ігри? 7. Нещодавно до України приїхало багато знаменитостей: відомі співаки, актори, світові політичні лідери та навіть Папа Римський. Це були мега-події для нашого суспільства. 8. Вона вже організувала стільки подій місцевого та міжнародного характеру, що її запрошують влаштовувати кожну подію у нашій країні. 9. Завдяки його професіоналізму все пройшло дуже плавно, ефективно та прибутково. 10. Яка ярмарка відбувається у цій виставковій залі? 11. На цю конференцію приїхало більше тисячі делегатів.