IAAPA Honors 2025 Gathered Professionals at Europa-Park

(eap) The IAAPA Honors 2025 were celebrated this year from 28 to 30 April at Europa-Park in Rust. For decades, the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) has presented its annual Brass Ring Awards and special Awards for Outstanding Achievements to Individuals and Companies in our Industry. Last year, a new event format was launched with “IAAPA Honors”, which has given the awards a special new setting. After last year’s premiere in Las Vegas, the organizers further expanded the format this year and significantly upgraded the grand but pure award ceremony with a comprehensive program. With Europa-Park, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, IAAPA had chosen the best possible venue for the event.

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The people, ideas and organizations that shape the present and future of the global attractions industry were celebrated. More than 200 participants from 30 nations, industry personalities from all over the world, traveled to Germany to share three days of inspiration, recognition, and exclusive moments. Behind-the-scenes tours, keynote speeches and panel discussions with leisure industry pioneers were as much a part of the program as the highly anticipated IAAPA Brass Ring and Individual Achievement Awards.

Roland Mack, Jürgen Mack and Jakob Wahl (f.r.t.l.)

The event kicked off with a panel discussion with Roland and Jürgen Mack, who offered a personal insight into the exciting journey of Europa-Park from the “showroom” of the Mack Rides company in Waldkirch – which was managed by their father Franz Mack in 1975 in the sixth generation – to the globally renowned and recognized family-run company and global benchmark for innovation and guest experience that it is today. “The business is our life”, Roland Mack summed up his passion after he and his brother Jürgen had described the power of family-run companies in exemplary fashion.

IAAPA President and CEO Jakob Wahl had an interesting discussion with the founder and majority shareholder of the internationally active Therme Group, Dr. Robert Constantin Hanea, about the future of spa and adventure worlds. Among other things, Hanea reported on his vision, his strategies, and his current projects.

Michael Mack

Michael Mack, CEO MACK One and Managing Partner of Europa-Park, explained to the participants why, in his opinion, our industry is still primarily data-based and why “digitalization is not everything, but without digitalization everything is nothing...” (read our interview with Michael Mack in EAP 3/2025).

Wim Hubrechtsen

The participants also listened very attentively to a presentation by Wim Hubrechtsen, CEO of the SnowWorld Group based in the Netherlands. With currently ten indoor ski resorts and three hotels, the indoor ski market leader is focusing on Europe and provided interesting insights into how even such a resource-intensive business can operate in a sustainable manner. According to Hubrechtsen, the SnowWorld facilities are already powered by a high percentage of alternative energies and work with a modern circular system that drastically reduces water consumption by returning the melted water to the slopes as snow in just 20 minutes. According to Hubrechtsen, SnowWorld want to be climate-neutral by 2030.

Katja Mack, Amanda Thompson, Miro Gronau and Stephanie Morehead (f.l.t.r.)

In another panel discussion, industry expert Miro Gronau interviewed three top show entertainment professionals: Stephanie Morehead, Project Manager Disney Live Entertainment, Amanda Thompson, CEO Pleasure Beach Resort Blackpool, and Katja Mack, Founder and Director of the Talent Academy at Europa-Park, gave insights into their work and why it is so important to entertain people by bringing emotions to life. That what you want to give people has to be memorable, because this is the only way to create an emotional connection; and that, last but not least, show and live entertainment can also be excellent tools for building bridges in the field of operations, e.g. by entertaining the waiting guests in queue areas.

Thomas Mack During the event, attendees were also able to talk to other leading innovators from across the attractions industry and gain valuable insights and inspiration from industry visionaries – including Russ Gaines (Thorpe Park), Mathieu Renier (Sparkx sportainment), Thomas Buijtenweg (BUAS) and Eric Jafari (AENDRE). Thomas Mack, founder and CEO of EATRENALIN and Managing Partner of Europa-Park, not only gave participants an insight into the park’s hospitality and gastronomy business, but also into the extraordinary and unique Eatrenalin fine dining experience (see EAP 6/2022). In addition he announced a new unique dark ride dining concept named “eatX“ which he has developed together with the engineers from Mack Rides in order to be able to offer extraordinary dining experiences for implementation within theme parks worldwide in the future.

Andreas Andersen presented the Liseberg Applause Award to Universal Studios Japan

Over two days, all finalists and the winners of the Brass Ring Awards 2025 were honored in the various categories. At the IAAPA Honors Gala, an exclusive dinner show, not only the Top FEC, Top LBE and the Inspiration, Service and Young Professional Individual Achievement Awards were presented, but also the prestigious Liseberg Applause Award was presented by Liseberg’s CEO Andreas Andersen – this year to Universal Studios Japan for setting a new standard in immersive experiences.

Massimiliano Freddi

Massimiliano Freddi, current IAAPA Chairman and founder and CEO of Wonderwood Park in Italy, proved to be not only an inspirational speaker and motivator throughout IAAPA Honors 2025, but also a truly exceptional and entertaining presenter who gave the awards ceremony an Oscar-worthy atmosphere.

IAAPA President and CEO Jakob Wahl expressed his satisfaction: “This year’s IAAPA Honors exceeded expectations.” “From honoring decades of excellence to recognizing the innovative achievements of the next generation, we brought together the best in our industry. Europa-Park proved to be the perfect host, providing a backdrop rich with history and stories. I am very proud of our IAAPA team and partners for putting together such a remarkable program,” said Wahl.

And host Roland Mack declared that he was proud to have hosted the first IAAPA Honors outside North America. “Whenever the experts of the leisure industry come together, inspiring impulses and a valuable exchange of ideas are created that enrich the entire industry. Innovation, quality, and sustainability have been at the heart of our family business for 250 years and are values that still characterize Europa-Park and MACK Rides today,” says Roland Mack. “We are proud to be an internationally respected part of this extraordinary industry. Together, we look to the future with optimism and wish all IAAPA members many satisfied guests, creative ideas, and joint success for the new season,” said Roland Mack at the end of a fantastic awards gala at the IAAPA Honors 2025.

With its three-day program, IAAPA Honors 2025 offered exclusive insights into park operations, exciting specialist presentations and first-class entertainment, making it a rich and worthy setting for the awards ceremony. (PP/LSP)

The list of all this year’s award winners can be found here.

More photo impressions here!