Liverpool
Introduction
As a city, Liverpool has in a sense been purpose built for events following on from its year as Capital of Culture, especially with the addition of ACC Liverpool. Over the last two years the venue has driven a phenomenal amount of business tourism into the city and has contributed £200 million worth of economic benefit to the visitor economy. Since opening in 2008, the BT Convention Centre has held over 300 conferences and welcomed over 150,000 delegates, while the Arena has hosted more than 200 events.
Liverpool is also an incredibly successful leisure destination and it is this popularity which makes it an attractive proposition for event organisers. Delegates often prefer to visit destinations which have more to offer and that can offer attractive social itineraries, as well as reasons to attend meetings and conferences and extend their trips.
Economic and academic specialisms
With a number of universities in the region, Liverpool’s specialist knowledge is exceptional with particular strengths in the sectors of biotechnology, regeneration, tropical medicine, digital and creative industries, oncology, paediatric medicine, professional services, life sciences and environmental technologies. Liverpool Convention Bureau also works closely with local academics and researchers through its ‘Forum Legati’ ambassador programme to highlight how it can work with event organisers to offer free advice and create successful events in the region for their associations.
Key venue
The purpose built ACC Liverpool offers one of the biggest capacities for events in the city. It combines a 1,350 seat auditorium, 18 break out rooms and 7,000m2 of exhibition space together with the interlinked 11,000 capacity Echo Arena. The venue is also newly accredited with ISO 14001 status, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable choice for events. Another unique feature of the auditorium is the use of two rotating drums which enable organisers the ability to subdivide the 1,350 seat auditorium into three self contained spaces of 850 and two rooms for 250 delegates.
Accommodation
Nearest hotels to ACC Liverpool are Jurys Inn and Staybridge Suites which offer approximately 500 bedrooms on site, with over 1,300 bedrooms only a ten-minute walk away in Liverpool city centre. Other central city hotels include the Hilton Liverpool and Radisson Blu Liverpool
Liverpool itself boasts an eclectic mix of hotels, guesthouses and serviced apartments, from budget to boutique and a range of three and four star properties. A number of new developments are also planned which will see hotel room stock rise to nearly 5,000 hotel rooms.
Unique venues for gala dinners and receptions
Liverpool is home to two Cathedrals which make for spectacular settings for a gala dinner or reception. The Liverpool Anglican cathedral is the biggest in the UK and offers a dramatic backdrop to events and can host up to 810 for a gala dinner or up to 1,000 for a reception. Equally resplendent is the neo-classical St Georges Hallfor up to 1,000 theatre style.
Alternatively, the city is also home to some of the most iconic sports stadia and racecourses which offer an unusual setting for any event.
Getting here
The location of Liverpool John Lennon Airport makes it perfect for the city, which is less than seven miles from the centre. Delegates can also take advantage of a dedicated express rail service which runs between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Liverpool South Parkway and takes 10 minutes.
New routes have also been launched from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, including last year’s KLM service to connect Liverpool to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, an airport which is consistently voted one of Europe’s best business airports. This will further open up business opportunities with international markets across Asia, Africa and America.
From the UK, rail services from London have reduced journey times into Liverpool to around 2 hours.