Connecting with More Event Professionals

Five professional cycling teams. One adaptable university campus. Three nights of planning, coordination and teamwork happening behind the scenes.

We’re proud to announce that Event Essex has been shortlisted in two categories at the miaList Awards 2026:

Together, the shortlist places recognise what makes Event Essex different: flexible spaces, experienced people and a team that understands how to make complex events feel effortless.

Keeping five professional teams race-ready

Our Event of the Year shortlist place recognises our work supporting five professional cycling teams during the Lloyds Tour of Britain.

For three nights, the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus became a high-performance base for riders, mechanics and support crews.

Accommodation became a place to rest and recover. Car parks became secure areas for coaches and support vehicles. Our team coordinated catering, security, utilities, media commitments and changing schedules.

Led by Ellie Giger as her first major event, teams from across the University worked together to keep every squad prepared and on time.

The result was simple: the riders focused on racing. We handled everything else.

The Tour’s Senior Operations and Logistics Manager described the team’s support as “above and beyond”, praising its ability to find solutions and keep everything running smoothly.

A venue built around people

Our Venue of the Year shortlist place celebrates Essex Business School, the UK’s first zero-carbon business school.

Its nine flexible spaces and light-filled winter garden create a venue that feels different from the moment delegates arrive.

This year alone, it has welcomed a Tour of Britain stage start, the British Origami Society’s national convention and an international spectroscopy meeting for 91 delegates.

For the four-day conference, lecture rooms became poster galleries and refreshment spaces. Accommodation was available three minutes away, while one dedicated coordinator brought together catering, receptions and the final banquet.

That is what makes Essex Business School stand out. Sustainability is built into the venue, flexibility is built into its spaces, and support is built around every organiser

Growing our industry connections

The shortlist comes as Event Essex expands its connections through the Meetings Industry Association and Academic Venue Solutions.

These networks give more organisers the opportunity to discover our venues, accommodation and event services at the University of Essex. They also help us build relationships and share knowledge across the events industry.

With more than 120 spaces across our Colchester Campus, Event Essex can support everything from focused meetings to conferences, residential programmes and large-scale productions.

Our growing industry presence matters. However, it is the work behind every event that gives us something worth sharing.

Discover Event Essex

Being shortlisted for Event of the Year and Venue of the Year is a proud moment for our whole team.

It celebrates a campus that can transform, venues designed around people and the expertise that brings every detail together.

Explore our event venues in Essex or contact the Event Essex team to start planning your next event.