According to the recent rankings published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), London has retained its fifth place for a third consecutive year for the total number of association events hosted.
Tracy Halliwell, Director of Tourism, Conventions and Major Events at London & Partners, the official promotional agency and convention bureau for the capital, said: “It is fantastic news and a great testament to the hard work of the London Convention Bureau team that London has retained fifth spot in the ICCA rankings for the third consecutive year. With a number of extraordinary events lined up, including the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2021, I am confident London will remain a top destination for event planners all over the world.”
Some 20 UK cities feature in these rankings, each with their own array of venues, hotels and infrastructure, designed to stage seamless event experiences for global audiences.
Scottish cities, which feature in the global ICCA rankings include Edinburgh (32nd), Glasgow (72nd) and Aberdeen (299th).
Aberdeen’s aspiration is to climb the rankings with the construction of a £333million multi-purpose convention centre, opening in 2019.
Wales will see its International Convention Centre open in 2019, offering 26,000sqm of events space for up to 5,000 delegates.
Welsh-ranked cities for international congresses included Cardiff (299th), with attractions such as Cardiff Castle and the world-renowned Principality Stadium, home of Welsh rugby.
While in Manchester, the city’s Manchester Central conference centre has helped the city achieve 84th spot in the rankings.
Joining London in the top five global cities to host association congresses are Berlin (4th), Vienna (3rd), Paris (2nd) and Barcelona (1st).
Madrid stays in seventh place for another year, and last year’s other seventh placed city, Amsterdam drops out of the top 10 to 16th place, making way for Prague to climb three places into eighth spot.
As in 2016, Singapore, Lisbon and Seoul remain in sixth, ninth and 10th place respectively.
Notable risers are Buenos Aires, jumping from 17th to 11th place, Budapest, jumping from 16th to 12th, and Hong Kong, jumping from 19th to 13th.
Rome remains in 20th place for another year. Newcomers to the top 20 in 2017 are Tokyo and Montreal.
Written by Mike Fletcher