The world’s most innovative senior software engineers, architects and team leads were reconnected at QCon London when it returned to the capital’s QEII Centre in April 2022. 

Objective

The annual international software development conference that has been supporting senior software teams for 17 years took place 4-6 April and saw over 60 hand-picked and inspiring speakers take to the stage at the QEII, which has hosted the event since 2007.

It was QCon’s first in-person event since the pandemic – so the organiser C4Media Inc, creators of QCon and InfoQ, worked closely with the QEII to implement a number of reassuring health and safety measures for attendees.

Execution

With QCon’s commitment to offering a ‘We care experience’ where delegates were promised a healthy, safe and inclusive environment in which to enjoy the conference, the QEII team worked in partnership with the organiser on this year’s latest innovations.

In addition to learning valuable insights, over the three days, the hundreds of delegates enjoyed delicious menus of healthy food. These included breakfast options, five refreshment breaks with snacks as well as tantalising lunches featuring hot dishes such as Spelt Risotto with Pea; Pan-Roasted Cajun Salmon; Sweet & Sticky Pakora Chicken and Aubergine and Summer Vegetable and Grilled Halloumi salads.

The meals were individually and sustainably packaged in creative bento boxes, which were designed to be relished either inside or outside on the QEII’s green that offers stunning views overlooking Westminster Abbey.

Delegates also enjoyed networking refreshments, drinks, and light snacks each evening.

Working with Klimato to help QCon make sustainably informed catering decisions, the carbon footprint of each dish was outlined to enable the centre to calibrate the total environmental impact of the catering across the conference.

Elsewhere, several Covid-secure measures were put in place across the centre to help keep delegates safe. These included vaccination and temperature checks on arrival and enhanced sanitising protocols as well as spaced seating and exhibition configurations to allow greater social distancing and the use of Hepa filters to ensure the air was continually filtered.

Silke D’Alessandro, Chief Operations Officer of C4Media Inc., said it’s imperative that they host the conference in London as the capital features a large and active software development community who are pushing the boundaries, particularly in the fintech and media spaces.

She said: “The accessibility of the venue is fantastic. In the UK we tend to take the QEII’s location in the heart of the world heritage site for granted, but to our international audience, it’s a real attraction. The views from many of the QEII’s rooms are simply stunning and to be a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, you can’t help but feel you’re in the centre of everything.”

Results

“The conference went very well,” according to D’Alessandro. She added: “Every year we try to do something a little bit different and the QEII is an amazing partner to collaborate with. We have been lucky enough to work with the same account team for several years and they are extremely knowledgeable and responsive. During the event, they become an extension of our own team and are a key part of our communication channels.

“Everyone from the security staff to the catering team played a key role in the experience for our attendees and the team at QCon.

“Our attendees were pleased to be back at QCon London and for many, it was the first event and the first time they had travelled since the start of the pandemic.”

The centre’s food, which was expertly prepared by QEII’s in-house catering team QEII Taste and overseen by head chef Jean Michel Viala, continued to also receive high praise.

D’Alessandro said: “We had a number of people comment on how good the food was, with some people saying they had some of the best salads and desserts ever!”