The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow was an opportunity for the European Union to advocate for ambitious climate action on an international scale. Alongside the main negotiations, the EU at COP26 Side Events were an opportunity to dive deeper into key issues and policy priorities to meet EU targets.
The EU Side Events at COP26 brought together different stakeholders and interest groups. It created a bridge between them and the EU institutions, allowing maximum access and participation by EU stakeholders, despite COVID-19 constraints. The hybrid programme of side events, which were streamed live from Brussels and a specially designed stand in Glasgow, was a forum for high-level debate and discussion around the EU’s role in climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
VO Europe coordinated 164 sessions across three studios throughout the two weeks of the conference. We managed over 1000 speakers (including VIPs) both virtually and onsite. This involved creating show-flows, welcoming participants and handling the technical aspects of the hybrid activities. We were also responsible for the management of an online event platform. This was a virtual space where participants could consult the programme of sessions, plan their calendar, network with other participants and livestream sessions, as well as rewatching them later.
VO Europe was also responsible for communications around the 2-week-long activities. This included the development and implementation of a visual identity and social media buying.
Following the successful implementation of this project, VO has continued to collaborate with DG CLIMA to deliver the EU at COP27 and EU at COP28 Side Events.
