Amongst the winners were the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), who took home the marketing award, while Venues Wellington, won the environmental sustainability award in partnership with reusable cups and containers company, FillGood. The Legacy Impact Award was won by a three-way collaboration between the University of Canterbury, The Conference Company and ChristchurchNZ on the Adaptations Futures Conference 2025.
The Auckland University of Technology and Auckland Maori tribe Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei took home the partnership category for their work on World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE) 2025, the largest international academic event held in New Zealand to day, with 3,800 delegates registered to attend.
The co-located 10th IWA-ASPIRE Conference and the Water New Zealand Conference & Expo 2025 – in combination the largest event for the water sector ever held in New Zealand – won the innovation category at The Bizzies in 2026.
In the individual talent categories, Zoe Lloyd from Food Envy took out the Emerging Business Events Professional, while Business Events Industry Aotearoa’s (BEIA) Australian representative, Sharon Auld won the Exceptional Business Events Professional Award.
“It was fantastic to see the range of talent and achievements represented in this year’s finalists,” said Rachel Cook and Alana Bicknell, who were co-chairs of The Bizzies’ steering committee.
“There is so much hard work, creativity and collaboration that goes into delivering successful business events, and much of that happens behind the scenes.
“The Bizzies are about recognising those people and teams, celebrating what they achieve and showcasing the contribution our industry makes to New Zealand.”
The Bizzies’ awards ceremony at Christchurch’s convention centre, Te Pae, was attended by 245 people from New Zealand’s business events industry. The ceremony took place on the middle night of the BEIA National Conference, which wraps up on Thursday.
