The Meetings Show 2014 brought together 731 registered hosted buyers and more than 460 exhibitors at Olympia London in early July. With more than 10,000 pre-scheduled appointments booked over three days, there was a lot of news to discuss. Here’s some of the highlights from around the UK.
Celtic Manor gets go-ahead for ICC
Plans for an international convention centre at the Celtic Manor Resort near Newport have been approved by the local authority. The new 2,790sqm Wales International Convention Centre at the resort will be built over three floors on land next to Junction 24 of the M4. The new planned development will deliver a main auditorium and an exhibition hall catering for up to 4,000 delegates, as well as a new 1,800-space multi-storey car park.
Councillor Paul Hannon said:
“This is a red letter day for Newport. There’s no doubt that when these proposals go ahead we will have a world-class convention centre here in our city".
Celtic Manor opened 10 luxury lodges this spring. Each holds eight people.
ICC Birmingham to run Vox Conference Centre
The ICC Birmingham will manage the Vox Conference Centre at Resorts World Birmingham when it opens mid-2015.
The venue will be located within Birmingham’s new leisure complex, alongside restaurants, bars, shops, a hotel and spa. The Vox Suites 1-5 will provide fully flexible conference and banqueting space that can be combined or divided to create several multi-functional areas for up to 900 delegates.
Managing Director, Nick Waight says: “I am delighted to announce our new conference facility – the Vox Conference Centre. The name comes from the Latin phrase Vox Populi meaning voice of the people. At the Vox you are guaranteed the best of all worlds; brand new conference and banqueting facilities, managed by our experienced team who have been successfully delivering events at the ICC for 23 years, all within Europe’s first fully integrated leisure and entertainment complex.”
Thorpe Park opens Shark hotel
Thorpe Park Resort has opened Thorpe Shark Hotel onsite.
After checking in at the nautical-themed fishing hut, guests walk through the open jaws of a Shark sculpture constructed from vintage and recycled park relics and roller coaster track to their bite-sized cabin rooms.
Corporate evening events at the park which include “Ride N Dine” party packages, Awards ceremonies, Gala Dinner and Christmas Parties can be fully complemented with overnight accommodation in the Thorpe Shark Hotel.
Rooms include a rain shower wet room, free WIFI, changeable mood lighting, and flat screen TV entertainment packages that feature on demand films and an Angry Birds App in recognition of this year’s opening of Angry Birds Land and the first Angry Birds 4D experience.
ACC Liverpool reveals first conference for £40million centre
ACC Liverpool has confirmed the first piece of conference business for its new exhibition centre.
The £40million Exhibition Centre Liverpool and its £26million integrated four-star 216-room hotel will open next summer and host RenewableUK in October 2015.
RenewableUK will welcome more than 4,500 delegates, 250 exhibitors and 190 speakers to the three-day event.
The news comes after ACC Liverpool confirmed the first exhibition bookings planned for the new venue. They are a combination of six consumer and trade exhibitions, which include the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers FPS Expo in 2016, 2017 and 2018, plus Bliss Wedding Shows’ The Liverpool Wedding Show in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The Exhibition Centre Liverpool will increase the existing 7,125sqm at ACC Liverpool to 15,225sqm of integrated and flexible event space.
Arsenal invites corporates onto the pitch in 2015
Arsenal Meetings & Events is accepting on-pitch event enquiries for after the football season ends in 2015.
The announcement follows this year’s extended on-pitch event offering, which resulted in corporate clients including Citroen, BT Sport, Gatorade and Huawei taking to the Emirates turf until 31 May.
Carlo Zoccali, Arsenal Meetings & Events Manager, said: “We had substantial interest in our on-pitch activities this year and we’re delighted to be able to offer more opportunities for corporate clients to follow in the footsteps of our world-class football team for the same period next year.
“Emirates Stadium is a state-of-the-art facility, providing an awe-inspiring atmosphere for all events, whether guests are seated for a banquet, immersed in a conference, hosting a private meeting or scoring on the famed pitch.”
Rum Warehouse opens in Liverpool
Rum Warehouse at Stanley Dock has opened as Liverpool’s newest events space.
The 14,000sqft space has been restored to retain its original features such as its floor-to-ceiling windows with views onto Stanley Dock, the gateway to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the adjacent Tobacco Warehouse, the largest brick building in the world.
Rum Warehouse has capacity for 1,000 theatre-style, 600 for dinner on the ground floor and, up on the dividable mezzanine area, a further 300 banquet style or 450 theatre-style. It also features two boardrooms, a pre-function room and a breakout space.
The Rum Warehouse combines this with three bars, full black-out capability, outside terraces, high speed internet and onsite free coach and car parking.
Article by
Mike Fletcher