Venue Management Association (Asia Pacific)

Venue Management Association (Asia Pacific) The home of the venue industry We are the industry association for venue professionals across APAC — connecting people and places to the future.

Our members span every part of the industry, including:
- Sport stadiums
- Entertainment arenas
- Convention & exhibition centres
- Performing arts venues
- Showgrounds, racetracks & more
- Suppliers, solution providers and consultants

VMA is your professional home — where venue people come together to grow, connect, and shape what’s next. We deliver trusted, in-person and online learning experie

nces, leadership development, networking events and industry-wide recognition across every stage of your career. Our purpose is clear: to future-proof the venue industry. We do this by empowering our community through collaboration, education, thought leadership and strategic partnerships. Our Flagship Programs & Offerings:
🎓 Venue Management School (VMS)
🛡️ Institute of Venue Safety & Security (IVSS)
🌱 Leadership Institute (LI)
🥂 After 5! Networking Series
📡 Digital Series (Webinars & Virtual Events)
🤝 Mentoring Program
🏆 Venue Industry Awards
📅 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress (Annual)

Whether you manage the largest stadium or are just starting out in your venue career — this is where you belong.

After 5! is back, and we're heading to five cities. One evening. Dozens of connections. Real momentum. If you're not a...
09/09/2025

After 5! is back, and we're heading to five cities. One evening. Dozens of connections. Real momentum. If you're not a VMA member, you can still join — learn how below.

- Gold Coast - 1 Oct - Cbus Super Stadium
- Newcastle - 7 Oct - McDonald Jones Stadium
- Sydney - 8 Oct - City Recital Hall, Sydney
- Hamilton, NZ - 18 Nov - FMG Waikato Stadium
- Adelaide - 2 Dec - Morphettville Racecourse

With thanks to our partners:
- Newcastle Entertainment Centre (ASM Global)
- Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand (EVANZ)
- Big Screen Video

🔗 Register: https://vma.org.au/after-5-networking-events

Last, but most certainly not least... Leadership, , and a new chapter for IVSS. As we wrap another incredible year of t...
03/09/2025

Last, but most certainly not least... Leadership, , and a new chapter for IVSS. As we wrap another incredible year of the Institute of Venue Safety & Security, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Wayne Middleton CVE, outgoing Chair of the IVSS Committee.

Wayne has been instrumental in the growth and success of the program — bringing , deep expertise, and tireless commitment to shaping the next generation of venue safety leaders across the Asia-Pacific. His leadership has helped position IVSS as a development program, and we’re deeply grateful for his contribution.

As Wayne steps down, we’re proud to welcome Michael Roberts as the new Chair of IVSS. Michael brings a wealth of experience, both locally and internationally, and a clear vision for the future of safety, security and operational resilience in our industry. We look forward to what’s ahead under his leadership.

Thank you, Wayne — and welcome, Michael.

At the heart of the Institute of Venue Safety & Security is a group of passionate, generous, and incredibly knowledgeabl...
02/09/2025

At the heart of the Institute of Venue Safety & Security is a group of passionate, generous, and incredibly knowledgeable individuals who bring this program to life — our volunteer instructors. These are people who give up their time, travel across the country (and the world), and step out of incredibly demanding day jobs to teach, mentor, and challenge the next generation of venue safety and security leaders. They don’t do it for applause — they do it because they care deeply about our industry and the people in it. Real experts. Real-world experience. Real learnings.

That’s what IVSS is all about — and it’s only possible because of the tireless , , and of this incredible group. On behalf of the VMA team, the IVSS Committee, and every student in this year’s cohort — thank you.

👏 Our 2025 IVSS Instructors:
- Greg Allen – Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
- James Wagg – Legends/ASM Global (APAC)
- ✪ Scott Taylor ✪🎤🎙️ – Praesidium Group
- Mel Goodman – Sydney Showground
- Jim Fidler Fda,AVM – Secure Events and Assets
- Rebecca Purcell – Optus Stadium, VenuesLive
- Michael Roberts – Arup
- Jenny Muldoon – Formerly Sydney Opera House
- Morten Therkildsen MSc – Roskilde Festival / RF Experience
- Wayne Middleton CVE – Reliance Risk

👏 Special thanks to our guest speakers and contributors:
- Al Baxter – Populous
- Mathew Lean – SafeWork NSW
- Nicholas Martin – Marsh Advisory
- Edward Swete Kelly – Chronosoft
- Bill Owens FAICD – Veracity Software Inc
- Katharine McLennan – Leadership Coach & Keynote Speaker
- Ben Sharkey – National Rugby League
- Casey Palmer – UBIMET Group

You made this week unforgettable — and your impact will echo in venues and events across our region for years to come.

Last but not least, a big thank you to our venue host for the week, NSW Rugby League Ltd. Your venue & team were amazing! See you next year!

A career-defining opportunity — and one very deserving winner. We’re thrilled to announce that Kerry Gamble, Venue Opera...
02/09/2025

A career-defining opportunity — and one very deserving winner. We’re thrilled to announce that Kerry Gamble, Venue Operations Manager at Optus Stadium – VenuesLive, has been awarded the Live Nation APAC Study Tour Prize for 2025, winning a learning experience trip to Roskilde Festival!

Thanks to the generous support of Live Nation, Kerry will travel to Denmark in July 2026 for an all-expenses-paid, 5-day immersive safety and operations tour of Roskilde Festival — one of the world’s largest and most respected
non-profit music festivals, renowned for their progressive, approach to safety and . The team has opened their doors to provide IVSS students with unprecedented access to international best practice.

During the study tour, Kerry will:
- Join operational briefings with Roskilde’s senior safety leaders
- Observe crowd density strategies in real time
- Learn emergency preparedness from experienced safety hosts
- See world-class audience welfare systems in action
- Experience front-of-stage safety from a pit crew perspective
- Meet the minds behind one of the world’s most sophisticated risk frameworks
- This is not just a prize — it’s a front-row seat to the future of safe, scalable live events.

Congratulations Kerry — we know you’ll represent the IVSS community with curiosity, leadership and impact.

Expression of Interest for IVSS 2026 is now open - https://vma.org.au/institute-of-venue-safety-and-security

We closed out IVSS 2025 with a beautiful black tie graduation dinner at Sydney Showground, bringing together students, i...
02/09/2025

We closed out IVSS 2025 with a beautiful black tie graduation dinner at Sydney Showground, bringing together students, instructors, and industry leaders to reflect on a week of , , and . Thanks to our guest speaker, Ben Sharkey, for his insights & storytelling on growing the National Rugby League in the USA.

A huge congratulations to our Year 2 students on completing the program and officially graduating — your leadership will shape the future of safety and security in venues across the region.

To our Year 1 cohort — your journey is just getting started, and we can’t wait to welcome you back in 2026 for Year 2!

A special shoutout to Grant Williams, Security and Emergency Manager at Federation Square - Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), who was awarded the Evolv Technology Year 2 Top Student Bursary — recognising outstanding engagement, performance, and contribution to the cohort. Thanks to Evolv Technology & Convergint for sponsoring the prize.

Thank you to Mel Goodman, Head of Events & Venue Operations, and the entire Sydney Showground team for hosting a truly memorable evening.

Here’s to everything we shared last week — the ideas, the challenges, the friendships — and to the incredible community we continue to build together.

The final day of IVSS 2025 brought everything together. It started with some key instructor panel discussions and then e...
29/08/2025

The final day of IVSS 2025 brought everything together. It started with some key instructor panel discussions and then each Independent Discussion Group delivered their final operational plans to their cohort and instructors — showcasing thoughtful strategies, practical applications, and everything they absorbed over an intense, high-impact week.

After a well-earned lunch, students completed their end-of-course exams, marking the final academic milestone of the program.

The knowledge, growth, and connections forged this week will carry far beyond the classroom — and this group has truly risen to the challenge.

One day to go, and the pressure is on. As the finish line comes into view, our students tackled a deep and dynamic lineu...
27/08/2025

One day to go, and the pressure is on. As the finish line comes into view, our students tackled a deep and dynamic lineup of topics today:

🟢 Emergency planning & crowd management
🟢 Venue & event accessibility
🟢 Advanced crowd psychology and crowd science

The afternoon was all about applying knowledge in practice — as each Independent Discussion Group worked intensively on their final operational planning projects, responding to a complex case study:

🎸 SOUNDBEAT — a fictional large-scale, high-risk heavy metal festival set to rock Sydney Olympic Park, drawing on past lessons from Soundwave and Stereosonic.

Each group is tasked with developing real-world strategies across key domains:

🟢 Olympians: Emergency & Crowd Management Plans
🟢 Platinum: Security Management + Threat & Vulnerability Assessment
🟢 Ambassadors: Safety Management + Event Risk Assessment

With the deadline looming, the groups pushed through with a working dinner session to prepare for tomorrow’s final presentations to their instructors and peers.

We’re nearly there — and we can’t wait to celebrate everyone’s achievements at tonight's graduation and closing celebration.

A golden hour tour. A world-class venue. An unforgettable masterclass in culture and leadership. As the sun dipped over ...
26/08/2025

A golden hour tour. A world-class venue. An unforgettable masterclass in culture and leadership. As the sun dipped over Sydney Harbour, IVSS students were treated to an exclusive tour of the Sydney Opera House, hosted by Jenny Muldoon and the SOH team, who walked us through one of the most advanced venue security systems in the Asia-Pacific. The views were breathtaking — but the insights were even more powerful.

To cap off the evening, we heard from Katharine McLennan, whose reflections on and during the challenged us to think deeper about the human side of venue operations.

It’s not every day you get this kind of access — and our students soaked up every minute.

Day 3 of IVSS raised the stakes — and the tempo. Back at the NSW Rugby League Ltd Centre of Excellence, both cohorts pow...
26/08/2025

Day 3 of IVSS raised the stakes — and the tempo. Back at the NSW Rugby League Ltd Centre of Excellence, both cohorts powered through a packed day of sessions focused on high-risk environments and major event operations — from and to risk assessments and threat management for .

After another standout lunch catered by Gema Group Pty Ltd (seriously, that food 👏), students broke into their Independent Discussion Groups for a deeper dive with their instructors, exploring how to apply what they’ve learned in their own venues.

The conversations are getting sharper, the examples more real, and the momentum continues to build.

IVSS day 2 kicked off with engaging sessions on severe weather management and health & safety law — two topics that cont...
26/08/2025

IVSS day 2 kicked off with engaging sessions on severe weather management and health & safety law — two topics that continue to shape our venues in very real ways.

After lunch, students explored three of the nation’s most iconic venues — Sydney Cricket Ground, CommBank Stadium and Allianz Stadium (Sydney Football Stadium - Venues NSW) — before returning for small group Independent Discussion Group sessions, applying their learnings to real-world scenarios from their own venues.

The evening took us across Sydney Showground and Qudos Bank Arena, where we wrapped up with a sit-down dinner and two standout guest speakers:

🎤 Nicholas Martin, Head of Marsh Advisory (Pacific)
🎤 Edward Swete Kelly, Director at Chronosoft

From planning royal memorials to emerging global threats like AI, the increasing threat of terrorism and geopolitical risk, Nic and Edward shared fascinating insights into the evolving risk landscape and what it means for our industry.

🙏 A big thank you to Gema Group Pty Ltd for keeping everyone fuelled with coffee, lunch and snacks throughout the day, and to Qudos Bank Arena for hosting a brilliant evening and dinner service. Thanks to Mel Goodman & Al Baxter for hosting the venue tours.

Another day of learning, connecting and future-proofing the venues of tomorrow.

On Sunday, we kicked off IVSS 2025 in true venue industry style. The week began with a warm welcome at the NSW Rugby Lea...
26/08/2025

On Sunday, we kicked off IVSS 2025 in true venue industry style. The week began with a warm welcome at the NSW Rugby League Ltd Centre of Excellence, where this year’s Year 1 and Year 2 students connected for the first time before diving into their Independent Discussion Groups — small working teams they’ll collaborate with throughout the program.

The evening wrapped up with a behind-the-scenes tour of Accor Stadium, followed by drinks and canapés overlooking the field — a perfect setting to network, reconnect and set the tone for a big week ahead.

Here’s to a week of learning, leadership, and levelling up our approach to venue safety and security.

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