A success story spanning the Atlantic
On this side of the Atlantic, Basel – a key European business, congress and cultural city in the northwest of Switzerland with a population of some 200,000. On the other side, Miami Beach – located directly on the Atlantic in the middle of the Miami metropolitan region with around 5.5 million inhabitants, countless hotels and holiday resorts around the famous Art Deco district of South Beach.
The two cities certainly have little in common in terms of size and location, but thanks to the Art Basel in Miami Beach art show they have enjoyed close links for many years.
“When Art Basel in Miami Beach was held for the first time in 2002, a regular exchange commenced between the two cities. In November 2011, on the occasion of the tenth edition, Basel sealed the city partnership with Miami Beach through a partnership agreement”, the marketing office for Basel reports. The cooperation is focused on the cities’ mutual interests in culture, tourism, business development and education. The now eight-year partnership spanning 8000 kilometres between the city on the Rhine and the “bridge” to Latin America is a veritable success story.
Making the move to Europe
The basis of this productive relationship between the cities is thus the MCH Group, which owns both Art Basel and the Congress Center Basel (CCB). The CCB team maintains a lively discourse with the team at the Miami Beach Convention Center. International clients of both institutions thus benefit from the mutual knowledge of the partner destination. Interested clients can gain insight into the opportunities that exist in Basel and Miami Beach and also benefit from useful contacts. In a sector such as the congress and trade fair business which requires intensive consultation and is thus a personal sector, relationships, trust and know-how are key factors for success. American associations and companies are staging an increasing number of conferences in Europe and Asia. Through its partnership with the Convention Center in Miami Beach, the CCB is particularly well suited as a contact for Americans making the move to Europe – and naturally as an organiser too
