Preparations for the 2024 edition of the EOS are in full swing. We continue to work closely with our national host, the Outdoor Industries Association, and the faculty at Cambridge University Judge Business School, to finalise a full and varied programme for delegates.

Last week, our team visited Cambridge, to check out some of the venues that we will be using, and finalise aspects of the event. We're really excited about welcoming you to the city and the very special buildings and locations that will host the summit.

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Cambridge

Cambridge is rated as one of the best small cities to visit in the UK, situated in the East of England and 50 miles of north of London. With a population of approximately 143,653, including 21,000 students, the world-famous University of Cambridge and its colleges are at its core.Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the world’s third-oldest university, and boasts 90 affiliated Nobel Laureates.

Visitors to Cambridge can immerse themselves in the academic ambience and follow in the footsteps of famous alumni in a city that has been at the heart of world-changing discoveries for centuries.Today, the city leads the way in innovation, research, science and technology; there’s a tangible passion for the sharing of knowledge between academia and business. Cambridge is where great minds meet and where delegates can escape the norm for an experience like no other. Being a compact city, the mediaeval streets of the historic centre are easily discovered on foot, or in the traditional way - by bicycle!

Delegates will find a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and an eclectic mix of museums, cinemas, art galleries, pubs and restaurants, all within a few minutes' walk.With over 800 years of history, you can tread in the steps of famed University of Cambridge alumni – from Isaac Newton and Rosalind Franklin to Charles Darwin, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, William Wordsworth, Sylvia Plath and Samuel Pepys. In more recent times, the likes of Stephen Hawking, Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, Zadie Smith and King Charles have studied at the university.

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The Cambridge Union

From its small beginnings as a debating society, main summit venue the Cambridge Union currently has over 70,000 life members worldwide. Now the oldest debating society in the world, and the largest student society in Cambridge, the Union remains a unique forum for the free exchange of ideas and the art of public debate. In the past the society has hosted such great figures as Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt and the current Dalai Lama, and it continues to provide Cambridge students with the opportunity to meet and question the people that shape our world, and has grown into the central forum for student discussion in Cambridge.

Some of the key dates in the Cambridge Union's history include:

• 1815 – debating society was founded
• 1866 – Union building officially opened
• 1910 – President Theodore Roosevelt visits the Union
• 1963 – the Union votes to admit women (by 449 to 180 votes)
• 1967 – Ann Mallalieu (Newnham) elected first female president.

You can read more about the history of the Cambridge Union HERE.

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You can find out more about the various facilities at the Cambridge Union HERE.

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