The announcement that the LOCATE26 conference and exhibition has been saved and will go ahead as planned in November next year, has been greeted with joy and relief right across the Australian geospatial community.
As revealed last week, LOCATE — along with Spatial Source — has been acquired by Geospatial Media & Events (GME), a new company set up by The Intermedia Group, the former publisher of Spatial Source.
GME has already hit the ground running, picking up where things were left off by the former Geospatial Council of Australia.
Planning is well underway with detailed discussions being held with the venue, the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MCEC).
LOCATE26 will take place from 24 to 26 November at the MCEC, right in the heart of the city on the banks of the Yarra River. It was last held in Melbourne in 2019.
LOCATE is one of the world’s premier geospatial events, and the flagship event for the Australian geospatial community. It regularly attracts around 1,000 delegates and speakers and many dozens of exhibitors from across the nation and around the world.
Continuity with previous events is assured, as LOCATE26 will see Alicia Smith, Director of Will Organise, remaining in the role of professional conference organiser. Smith and her team are highly respected and well known to all previous LOCATE speakers, sponsors and exhibitors.
Also at the helm is Simon Cooper, publisher of Spatial Source and an events industry veteran who has been closely involved with many previous LOCATE conferences.
“I’m excited to be involved with the organisation of LOCATE once again,” said Cooper. “It’s always a great event that brings together a wide range of attendees, from young professionals and researchers to senior executives, local and international — that’s one of the things that gives the event its appeal, it’s egalitarian nature.”
“The next 12 months will go quickly as we undertake preparations in earnest, put out the call for speakers and begin to build a special program for the whole geospatial community.”
LOCATE26 will be held in conjunction with the 2026 Digital Earth Summit, a major annual global conference of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE).
This will be the second time Locate will have been held in association with the Summit, following the highly successful event that took place in Sydney in 2017.
The new LOCATE26 website will be up and running soon, and regular announcements will be made over the coming months regarding the conference theme, topic streams, registration options, and exhibition and sponsorship opportunities.
For enquiries about LOCATE26, please contact Alicia Smith at asmith@willorganise.com.au.
Spatial Source will bring you more information as it is released.
