Representatives of Jack Morton Worldwide, XSAGA, Nord Core and The Alchemist, along with professionals experienced in organising the Eurovision Song Contest, the Olympic Games and international concert tours, gathered in Riga on 28 and 29 October for the inaugural edition of the international PULSE forum. Held at Hanzas Perons, the event brought together participants from 17 countries, with the ambition of positioning Latvia as a new meeting point for the international events industry.
Over two days, more than 35 industry experts discussed the future of events and live communication, technical production, concert tours, brand experiences, sustainability, safety and artificial intelligence. The programme also focused on changing audience habits and opportunities to bring projects from Latvia’s creative industries to international markets.
The forum was launched with the intention of establishing Riga as a permanent international platform for professional networking, knowledge exchange and the development of new partnerships. Toms Veiss, creator and producer of PULSE, emphasised that the organisers do not want to add just another conference to the industry calendar, but rather create an event that international professionals will return to regularly.
“Our ambition is to make Riga a place that international events professionals mark in their calendars, a place they travel to meet colleagues, build partnerships and find their next big ideas. The first PULSE has shown that we have the content, professional competence and courage to develop this kind of platform. It is vital that our international colleagues see this potential, too. Our task now is to turn this initial statement of intent into a long-term international event,” said Veiss.
Discussions extended beyond event organisation and new technologies. One of the topics was the potential for stronger cooperation among the Baltic countries, which have traditionally operated more as competitors than partners. Aurimas Kamantauskas, head of the Rekūrai agency, believes PULSE could help change this dynamic.
“The Baltic countries have historically competed with one another, but I think PULSE will be a platform where we finally start working together,” said Kamantauskas.
Germans Ermičs also spoke about the importance of collaboration for international success, stressing that expertise should not be limited to what an individual can achieve independently. According to him, building trust, connecting with others and developing joint projects are more important.
The human dimension of the industry was particularly evident during a discussion about Ukraine. Natali Shestakova remarked: “In a world that seems to be falling apart, the only truly stable value is the connection between people.”
The inaugural edition of PULSE concluded with standing ovations, while the organisers see its continuation in the development of connections and collaborations initiated during the two days in Riga. The event has laid the foundations for a platform through which Latvia aims to strengthen the international visibility of its creative and events industries, while connecting professionals from the Baltic region with the wider international community.
More information is available on the official PULSE forum website.
