I have attended many large conferences, where there are 1000’s of attendees who participate.
In my opinion, the reasons why someone would like to attend a conference could be:
- They seek information which can help them decide on a decision that they are currently deliberating.
- They want to network with others in the community.
- They want to network with key executives of the organizers so that they can finalize a deal or similar.
- Some combination of the above.
Now, the questions to ask are the following:
- Which of the above is the main reason for the organizers to organize the event? The size & format could depend on the answer to this question.
- What is the right audience size for an event which could enable this?
I have noticed a trend that the organizers of such conferences are using the number of attendees as a measure of success and tout it, which by itself does not reveal if the event was successful for the participants or the organizers.
Hence, I hope (& wish) that there is more thought being put in the reasons for organizing such large conferences and the format being planned accordingly.
