NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville was recognized as a top city for events with Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, being named to the global Top 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry 2022.
“This recognition speaks to Nashville’s prominence as a city that excels in putting on major events, whether it’s global music festivals, gigantic sporting events or mega conventions,” said Kevin Lavender, chair of the board of directors for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “Butch deserves tremendous recognition for his track record of successfully recruiting, producing and executing major events, and Nashville also deserves credit as a city that collaborates and comes together to do big things.”
Nashville successfully hosts major annual events, including CMA Fest, Let Freedom Sing: July 4th in Music City, and Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, as well as NFL Draft 2019, Music City Grand Prix and the upcoming NHL Draft and Awards in 2023. The hospitality industry implemented a strategy in the early 2000s to recruit and invest in major events to increase visitation and grow Music City into a global destination.
Spyridon has led the NCVC for nearly 32 years, helping brand Nashville as Music City and was instrumental in recruiting the city’s professional sports teams and construction of Bridgestone Arena, Nissan Stadium, GEODIS Park and First Horizon Park. He was the city’s point person in recruiting and hosting the 2019 NFL Draft – the most successful Draft in NFL history and the most successful one-day event in Nashville history.
The prestigious list is published by Eventex, a global events and experiential marketing organization. The list is decided by public vote, where people from the industry nominate and then vote for those they believe have influenced the world of events and experience marketing the most. A total of 454 professionals were honored with a nomination, and the nominees with the most votes made the top 100 list.
Leaders from 22 countries made the top 100 with the United States having the most people on the list at 43. Also recognized were leaders from organizations such as Destination DC, Poland Convention Bureau, and Barcelona Convention Bureau, along with professionals from national meetings organizations including The IMEX Group, Destinations International and PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association). The complete list: eventex.co/people2022