CN looks at the resurgence in the Black Country that is seeing a former industrial heartland now powering up for big events

olverhampton has the kudos of being home to the first UK ministerial office outside of Westminster, with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government moving( in 2021) to the eye-catching i9 building at the heart of Wolverhampton’ s emerging commercial district.

The city is steeped in history. Home to the first traffic lights and one of the world’ s oldest professional football teams, Wolverhampton also played a key part in pioneering the heavy metal music scene. Wolverhampton sits in the heart of

the Black Country, to the north-west of Birmingham and enjoys similar excellent transport links. Wolverhampton’ s award-winning £ 150m($ 185.4m) Interchange of train, tram and bus, even has one of the city’ s historic venues capable of hosting over 1,000 delegates, right next to it: Grand Station.

Venues within a walk Once you arrive, the city is extremely walkable and the majority of conference venues across Wolverhampton are within walking distance from the train station / interchange. And you can reach Birmingham Airport via train in just under 45 minutes.

AEG Presents – part of the AEG global sports, entertainment and venue operator family – beat off strong competition to secure a long-term deal

Below: Molineux Stadium, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC since 1889

to operate Wolverhampton’ s Civic Halls on a 25-year lease. The iconic city centre venue reopened as the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls in May 2023 following a major multi-million-pound refurbishment programme and is again hosting leading musical and entertainment acts like Bob Dylan, Blur and Penn & Teller, as well as being an ideal host for a range of consumer, corporate, award ceremonies and trade events. The venue offers over 1,000sqm of flexible floor space across the Civic and Wulfrun Halls, plus a range of breakout spaces of varying sizes.

Councillor Chris Burden comments on the major investment in The University of Wolverhampton at The Halls.“ The refurbishment means that the venue is being used more extensively for daytime conference and exhibition activity, which it struggled to do in the past. It is an integral part of Wolverhampton’ s entertainment and music heritage and an important part of our visitor economy, making it a keystone of the council’ s wider plans to reimagine the city centre, create local jobs and grow vital local businesses.”

Putting some drama into the delegate experience is the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, which has capacity for 1,200 for conferences and presentations.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery is another venue offering a historic and cultural location for events, corporate meetings, away days, training and functions. Designed by Julius Chatwin and built in 1884 with Bath stone to house the city’ s art collection, the Grade II-listed gallery now boasts a variety of classic