Venues and organisers have been racing to run contingency plans and travel advisories on their websites, as London braces itself for the latest in a long-running series of strikes by tube workers. RMT and TSSA rail unions were due to strike at 5pm, 6 September, for 24 hours.

York-based conference and events agency, NYS Corporate, has won a coveted place on the government's Buying Solutions Framework Agreement. The framework is designed to supply travel management services to the public sector for the next four years.

The Lowry arts and entertainment venue at Salford Quays, Manchester, is expanding its conference facilities with a development within the Digital World Centre building, situated adjacent to the main entrance of The Lowry itself. The new facilities will include a fixed seated, tiered theatre, accommodating 100 delegates, and 350sqm of exhibition space.

The recession has led event organisers into shorter-term thinking and a stronger focus on cost, new research has found. According to an IET Venues survey, 37 per cent of respondents make bookings one to three months in advance, while 27 per cent book up to six months ahead.

Nick Orton, the MD of organiser CloserStill Media, has left the company. Orton, who founded Healthcare Trade Shows, the company purchased by CloserStill Media nearly two years ago, will be replaced by CloserStill Holdings' director of business development, Michael Westcott.