Annual review 2024

... it was time to make some room. In honor of the departure of former director-executives Peter Kentie and Eric Boselie, we organized the farewell conference Plaats-Maken (place making). A special moment to reflect on 12.5 years of work and inspire guests with sessions by fellow city marketing professionals. Quite the change, for us as an organization, as only one person took over their position. During the event, we introduced Roland Kleve as the new director-executive of both Eindhoven365 and Eindhoven247.

Convention Bureau Brainport Eindhoven

Since its founding in 2022, Convention Bureau Brainport Eindhoven has been experiencing solid growth. Our partner network continues to expand, the number of conference requests is rising, and Eindhoven has now secured a spot in the European ICCA Top 100—ranking as the 8th conference city in the Netherlands.

We played a key role in securing approximately 10 international, multi-day conferences with a strong profile-enhancing impact. These events accounted for around 8,500 conference days and generated an economic spin-off of over €3 million. But there’s more! We are currently involved in five ongoing bid processes and are actively developing new strategic conferences such as WATT matters in AI (November 2025), the Heterogeneous Integration Conference (2026), and the repositioning of Drive Forward: The European Conference on Innovations in Automotive Mobility (April 2025).
To enhance our visibility and network, we actively participate in international trade fairs such as IMEX Frankfurt and IBTM Barcelona. Additionally, we hosted lunch sessions for conference organizers at TU/e and welcomed 20 Dutch conference professionals during GLOW. These efforts have contributed to an increase in conference requests for 2024.

From city marketing to ecosystem strengthening
The Convention Bureau reinforces the Eindhoven City Marketing Strategy 2030, aiming to attract high-quality visitors who bring lasting value to both the city and the Brainport ecosystem. International conferences create direct economic impact, with participants spending an average of €350 per day on accommodation, dining, transport, and cultural activities. In the long run, conferences strengthen Eindhoven’s international profile—fostering knowledge exchange, attracting talent and investors, and connecting the Brainport ecosystem to the world.

Good to have you around

Through press and influencer marketing, we showcase just how welcoming Eindhoven is. But our efforts don’t stop there. Together with our colleagues at Eindhoven247, we help groups, locals, and visitors experience the city through curated touristic programs. From guided walks and bike tours to other immersive experiences, we offer a variety of ways to explore Eindhoven. Discover all city tours at thisiseindhoven.com/en/tours.

We entertained our target audiences with activating campaigns and were visible in the Eindhoven area and abroad year-round. Here are some of our 2024 campaigns.

PROJECT EINDHOVEN

The love for the city is extra strong in a particular place: the Philips Stadion. The love for the club and Eindhoven has been captured by RUGGED, in collaboration with various Eindhoven artists, under the name EINDHOVEN’S FINEST. If that love runs so deep, why not do the same for Eindhoven itself? For PROJECT EINDHOVEN, we joined forces with RUGGED and a bunch of Eindhoven artists. The result: two truly Eindhoven records about the love for the city.

Flemish influencers visit Eindhoven

For years, we have been working with influencers as part of our PR and content strategy in Eindhoven. This time, Brabant Partners, in collaboration with Thx.agency—a marketing agency specializing in the travel and leisure industry in the Benelux—organized the influencer group trip ‘Kamp-C’ to four Dutch cities, including Eindhoven. From beekeeping to laser tag, through special challenges, content creators and their followers got to experience Eindhoven in an interactive and original way.

Wrap up the Year

With Wrap up the Year, a collaborative campaign with Bureau Binnenstad Eindhoven, we invited residents and visitors to end the year in style—Eindhoven-style. Throughout the festive month of December, the city was packed with events and activities, the city center was extra festively decorated with new Vibes atmospheric lighting, and local entrepreneurs were ready to turn the final weeks of 2024 into a true celebration.

In Eindhoven, numerous events take place throughout the year. A well-filled event calendar contributes to an attractive city for both residents and visitors. We do not leave this solely to event organizers. Instead, we take a proactive approach to bringing international sporting events to the city, such as the European Water Polo Championship 2024 and Winterclash 2024. Additionally, the event team of Eindhoven247 was once again involved in organizing Eindhoven’s largest events, including King's Day, Groots met een zachte G, and GLOW. The cherry on top: the celebration of PSV’s championship victory. Below are some of the events that defined the year.

Park Hilaria

In 2024, Eindhoven247 organized the 22nd edition of Park Hilaria. Every summer, the Kennedylaan transforms into a temporary amusement park with around 90 large and small attractions, game stalls, terraces, and live performances. Once again, it proved to be a crowd favorite this year, attracting half a million visitors.

PSV championship

For over a month, we were on high alert. The question wasn’t if PSV would become champions, but when. On Monday, May 6, the day finally arrived: the entire city turned red and white, flooded with PSV supporters for the official celebration. For those who had never experienced such a spectacle before, we created a special guide: How to Celebrate PSV’s championship.

Marathon Feesten

During the Marathon, Eindhoven’s energy is truly tangible. This year was extra special, as 2024 marked the 40th (!) anniversary edition of the AMSL Marathon Eindhoven. A record number of athletes ran through the vibrant city. To enhance the festivities, a collective of hospitality entrepreneurs organized the Marathon Feesten. To keep everything running smoothly, we supervised the permit process and ensured coordination between the sports event and the celebrations.

New Years EHVE

Thanks to New Years EHVE, Eindhoven’s official New Year’s Eve celebration, New Year’s Eve was focused on ‘igniting the new light.’ A new tradition was created around the iconic Lichttoren, where Eindhoven residents welcomed the new year together. For the second edition, the event was scaled up and made even more spectacular with light projections, explosive fireworks, and a local lineup. As a result, the event earned a nomination for the National Event Award. This year, we collaborated on the event’s marketing, including sharing content across the @eindhovencity channels. This is something we will continue to build on in 2025.

... just like the articles on thisiseindhoven.com. Last year, we gave you a glimpse into our content strategy: while we use our social media channels for storytelling, the website serves as an evergreen foundation with information about Eindhoven. This means we focus on quality over quantity. We don’t produce an endless amount of articles, but rather content that resonates with our target audiences. We applied this approach to the type of website visitor we wanted to attract: the qualitative visitor. Not a one-time user, but someone who wants to immerse themselves in Eindhoven content repeatedly.

We worked on our brand awareness

As the go-to inspiration platform for everyone's Eindhoven experience, visibility is essential. For years, we shared our energy through Share the Vibe campaigns, but in 2024, we decided to make that energy even more tangible. With an Out of Home media campaign, we let both familiar faces and newcomers—students and visitors alike—know that thisiseindhoven.com is available 24/7 with the very best tips. This bold initiative aims to entice residents from the city and region to explore the website and, ultimately, visit Eindhoven’s city center. Click here to learn more about Out of Home Media.

Orange vibes thanks to THE VIBE

What can we say? In Eindhoven, we love football. From PSV to the Dutch national team, we’re not hard to please! The summer of 2024 was one that turned Eindhoven orange, with large screens set up all around the city to enjoy the matches. And for us, that called for a limited edition THE VIBE t-shirt to support that energy.

Schil & Stronk at Eindhoven Municipality

To actively engage residents in making their city more sustainable and to strengthen social cohesion, we organized the first edition of the traveling Neighborhood Bistro Schil & Stronk in 2023. With a cooking workshop and a community lunch, we focused on the theme of reducing food waste, bringing people together in the Hagenkamp neighborhood. Together, we taught them how they, too, could waste less food. It was a great success, which did not go unnoticed by the Municipality of Eindhoven. As a result, the Neighborhood Bistro made a comeback. Last year, it was part of the Municipality of Eindhoven's Climate Program. We organized two workshops for 15 participants each and handed out bites to 300 people at Nachtegaallaan and City Hall.

THE VIBE at Dutch Design Week

Especially for Dutch Design Week, Coffeelab made a comeback with a pop-up in the former Brandstore at Stationsplein. For us, it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect, just like we used to do at this iconic location. From Kei Black to THE VIBE: with a mini-exhibition, we showcased the evolution of our clothing brand.

Open Eindhoven

The Open Eindhoven project is an initiative to communicate the city's major transformation in a clear, but most importantly, fun way to residents and visitors. This year, we were intensively involved in the further development of the Open Eindhoven style. Where we previously talked about an Open Eindhoven presentation space, we now speak of a fusion of an exhibition space and the Tourist Information Eindhoven. In this way, we are creating a place in the Heuvel, in seamless alignment, where we tell the complete Eindhoven story.

Share the Vibe

On March 20, 2025, we launched the book Share the Vibe. Of course, we could have saved this announcement for next year's year-in-review, but with all the work we’ve put into it over the past year, we just couldn’t wait. Written by Peter Kentie, the book reveals everything about how an industrial city transformed into a vibrant, innovative hub that attracts attention worldwide. It’s a compilation of more than 10(!) years of city marketing knowledge, from strategic choices to execution. A gift for both the Dutch and international industry, if we do say so ourselves. You can order the book via this link or, while you're at it, dive into our new website sharethevibe.nl for more about the brand and the campaign of the same name.