Some of the brightest and best minds operating in the attractions industry today will come together to discuss how best to open venues overseas in a culture that might be alien to the team behind it, in a world where fervent nationalism is on the rise.

Taking place on 14 November 2018, the IAAPA Legends Panel at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida will look at the success of Germany's Europa-Park and Hong Kong’s Ocean Park in the face of a pervading sense of nationalism in the modern world.

Hosted by Bob Rogers, founder and chair of experience design firm BRC Imagination Arts, previous IAAPA Legends panels in recent years have featured the likes of Universal Creative senior vice president Thierry Coup, legendary Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar and Disneyland’s first president Jack Lindquist.

This year, IAAPA Hall of Famer Roland Mack, founder of Europa-Park, will be the first panel member. Mack’s work at Europa-Park is celebrated as a beacon of how to present attractions based on different European cultures and appeal to an international audience.

The second panel member this year will be Universal Beijing Theme Park and Resort president and general manager Tom Mehrmann. Mehrmann’s time as CEO at Ocean Park saw him steer the attraction through Disney’s arrival in Hong Kong, adapting constantly to make the attraction more culturally astute and staying ahead of its far larger competitor for 10 years.

The annual IAAPA Attractions Expo takes place this year in Orlando between 12-16 November. The event is the largest annual gathering of attractions professionals in the world, with more than 32,000 people expected to attend. For a full lineup of programmes taking place through the week, click here.