Melbourne International Coffee Expo, World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup 2022

In 2022, after three years of postponements and cancellations, Melbourne hosted the World Brewers Cup (WBrC) and World Barista Championships (WBC) alongside the popular Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE).

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - the largest centre of its kind in Australia - the WBC, WBrC and MICE 2022 events injected more than $15.5m into the local economy, at a time when international events were only just starting to return to the country.

Outside of supporting the initial bidding process to secure the event, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) played a crucial role in navigating World Coffee Events and Prime Creative Media through all the postponements to ensure the event could ultimately go ahead in a post-Covid world. In addition to confirming the venue had space and dates locked in, MCB connected the organising committee with key stakeholders including Qantas and Melbourne Airport; engaged Lord Mayor Sally Capp AO to get involved in the event; and generated high volumes of media coverage through PR and marketing initiatives.

Other key achievements included:

• Highest attendance in the history of the event
• A record of 15,000 attendees over four days
• A strong return of international participation - 1,500 internationals from 71 countries
• 25% increase in visitor numbers from 2019 event

Watch this highlights video and get inspired to host a business event in Melbourne

About the World Baristas Championship and World Brewers Cup

Unofficially dubbed ‘The Olympics of Coffee’, the World Baristas Championship is the preeminent international coffee competition produced annually by World Coffee Events (WCE). Australia is the first country outside the United States to host the world finals twice (the last being 2013), cementing Melbourne as an iconic and respected coffee nation.

The WBC competition focuses on promoting excellence in coffee, advancing the barista profession, and engaging a worldwide audience with an annual championship event that serves as the culmination of local and regional events around the globe.

Representing Australia in the 2022 WBC was Victoria’s very own, reigning Barista Australian Champion, Anthony Douglas, who took out the top prize.

The World Brewers Cup competition highlights the craft of filter coffee brewing by hand, promoting manual coffee brewing and service excellence.

About Melbourne International Coffee Expo

MICE is known throughout the world as the largest and most exciting, dedicated coffee event that highlights the craft of filter coffee brewing by hand, promoting manual coffee brewing and service excellence. It has become a haven for baristas to explore trends and for international roasters, manufacturers and traders to showcase their brand to what many argue is a leading coffee market - so it’s rather fitting that Melbourne hosted this esteemed event.

The expo showcased 170 exhibitors representing all sectors of the global supply chain, including coffee producers and green importers, equipment manufacturers, roasters, café owners, and baristas.

Include Melbourne in your next bid opportunity

Melbourne’s infrastructure capability to host large conventions in the heart of the city, outstanding sustainability credentials, ‘Team Melbourne’ approach and proximity to nearby cultural, nature and wildlife tourist attractions are just some of the reasons why your organisation should include Melbourne in your next bid opportunity.

Learn more about Why Melbourne and reach out to the MCB team for further information for free business event support.