The QEII Centre could be out of action for at least six years after MPs voted for Parliament to relocate during its £3.5 billion refurbishment. They voted by 236 to 220 to support works that could see the House of Lords relocated to the venue. The refit could take six years from 2025. From Meetpie.com…
Central Hall Westminster has launched a new carbon calculator to help organisers estimate their events’ environmental impact. The London conferencing centre is the first UK venue to partner with Green Tourism on the scheme. The formula takes into account both the size of the venue space hired and the number of days an event lasts. From Meetpie.com…
CTICC 2, the Cape Town International Convention Centre’s R900 million expansion, has officially opened for business. The new facility strengthens Cape Town’s goal of becoming one of the world’s top ten long-haul convention destinations. The city holds 71.4 percent of CTICC shares and invested R550 million in the project, which helped regenerate the inner city. From the Event…
The 19th century city landmark and event space Manchester Town Hall has closed as part of a £328m refurbishment. The “Our Town Hall” project will take until 2024 to complete. The iconic venue is Grade I listed, 140 years old, and according to a spokesperson for Manchester City Council, “showing its age”. From Meetpie.com…
Meetings are always about human contact and interaction, but delegates should also find time to enjoy their destination. At the recent SITE + MPI Global Forum 2018 in Rome, attendees were spoiled by the city’s classical and Renaissance heritage, and also by the facilities and venues hosting the event. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
The INCON Digital Infrastructure Award rewards venues that invest in their infrastructure to ensure a flawless digital experience for meeting and conference guests. This year, INCON has opened the award to two categories – Convention Centres and Hotel Convention Venues. Winners will be announced at IMEX Frankfurt in May 2018.
Kensington Roof Gardens has closed after 37 years due to rising costs. The party venue’s operator, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, said it was struggling to make a profit at the Grade II listed site, an iconic favourite for London event organisers. 85 staff are being made redundant, and booking deposits are being refunded. Photo: Edwardx. From Meetpie.com…
ACC Liverpool says its events will proceed as planned following a fire which gutted its car park. Fire broke out on New Year’s Eve in the facility, which is adjacent to the BT Convention Centre, Echo Arena, Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the Pullman Liverpool hotel. 1,300 vehicles were destroyed in the blaze. Photo: Merseyside Fire and Rescue. From Meetpie.com…
A $300 million hotel that threatens to scupper the long-awaited expansion of the San Diego Convention Center has reached a key milestone, with the release of its environmental analysis. The Fifth Avenue Landing project sits on a five-acre site coveted by backers of a plan to expand the centre. From The San Diego Union Tribune…
The Memphis Cook Convention Center in Tennessee is getting a $175 million refit. The upgraded venue will boast 52 meeting rooms, glass covered concourses, and outdoor terraces looking over the Mississippi. The city plans to use a hotel / motel tax to fund the project as well as the Downtown Tourism Development Zone. From News Channel 3…
It was 2017’s most memorable meetings industry picture story: the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston repurposed as a mega-shelter in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Over 22 days, the venue became a temporary home to over 10,000 evacuees. Chief Operating Officer Luther Villagomez relives an operation the sector won’t quickly forget. From PCMA Convene…
Today convention centres have to take a broader approach to the meetings sector, offering organisers a gateway to the cities and regions in which they are located. Some are effectively convention bureaux in their own right. Just how the role of major venues is changing is revealed across the thriving Australian scene. From CIM News Magazine…
The holiday season is a time we should all be thinking about those less fortunate than ourselves. So what better story now to tell than the charitable legacies offered by several major US convention centres during Thanksgiving… the last time that turkey was on the menu? Go and do likewise. From PCMA…
World Forum The Hague (formerly World Forum) and the City of The Hague have reopened the Dutch city’s largest venue for conferences and events after years of renovations and an investment of more than €28 million. The work allows the venue to host even larger events in a new 12,000 square metre exhibition hall. From Boardroom…
In yet another example of the creative legacies of business events, ICC Sydney has published a book celebrating its art collection. “ICC Sydney Art Collection: A Curated Collection of Art to Celebrate Sydney” includes commissions both for the new venue and for the first convention and exhibition centre in Darling Harbour. From CIM News Magazine…
The opening of the new Paris Convention Centre, the largest venue of its kind in Europe, has shone a spotlight on the French capital’s offering for large meetings. The Viparis launch event showcased not just the centre itself, but also some of the wider knowledge economy Paris can bring to the table. From Boardroom…
The nature of venues and of how organisers use them is changing. If coffee shops are now suitable spaces, why not cinemas? The refurbished Stella in South Dublin – an Art Deco time capsule – is visited in this article, with some Bold ideas for small meetings featured as well. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
ICC Sydney is to roll out a multi-streamed legacy programme, designed to connect the world’s brightest minds, industry leaders and delegates across a diverse cross-section of Sydney’s community. Starting in January, the scheme will foster knowledge exchange, collaboration and engagement around four streams: Innovators, Generation Next, Aboriginal Australia and Sustainability. From CIM News Magazine…
The Paris Convention Centre, the largest venue of the kind in Europe, has opened its doors for business. The new facility boasts 72,000 square metres of event space and can host up to 35,000 people. The €180 million project is the first of three phases in the refurbishment of the Parc des Expositions. From Association Meetings International…
It’s awards time again, and the marketing category of any major ceremony is always hotly contested, as for example at the recent ICCA Congress in Prague (News: “FMCCA Wins Best Marketing Award”). One Iceberg partner, SoolNua, boasts not only the Chairman of Judges of that ceremony, but also a nomination in another. From SoolNua’s Pádraic Gilligan at Padraicino…
UFI’s World Map of Exhibition Venues (November 2017) reveals that the total venue space available for exhibitions has grown 7.4 percent in the last six years, from 32,500,000 to 34,900,000 square metres (gross indoor exhibition space, venues over 5,000 square metres). The fastest growth is in venues offering more than 100,000 square metres, a rise of…
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