“ There have been so many milestones in our journey – from hosting the Capital of Culture ’ s Opening Ceremony in 2008 to the first conference in the UK during the pandemic as part of the Government ’ s Event Research Programme . Plus , most recently , Eurovision which felt even more significant to be hosting it in our fifteenth year .”

The campus , which also includes M & S Bank Arena and ACC Liverpool , has welcomed 8.3 million visitors and generated £ 2.1bn in

economic impact for the city region since it opened its doors as part of the 2008 Capital of Culture year . Exhibition Centre Liverpool extended the campus and opened in 2015 , hosting a variety of consumer and trade exhibitions including the International Festival for Business , SIBA BeerX UK and events such as Comic Con Liverpool and Liverpool Indoor Funfair .

Despite the challenges , Dyer says she is “ immensely proud ” of how the venue has recovered from the pandemic : “ It ’ s been a successful two and a bit years for us , not just in terms of what we ’ ve hosted and how we ’ ve got back on our feet , but I ’ m proud of how we ’ ve done it - we ’ ve very much done it arm in arm with our suppliers , our clients , with the events industry and with our people .”

Since joining the venue Dyer has overseen its Social

Faye Dyer

Value Plan , which has a focus on five key areas - community ; environment , sustainability and climate action ; procurement with purpose ; event industry impact and people .

The venue recently became the first in England to launch a legacy toolkit for organisers , which aims to drive stronger engagement between organisers , venues , local communities and stakeholders .

“ I ’ m proud that we ’ ve been at the forefront of that as an

organisation , and hopefully others will follow suit in the venue sector .”

As well as improvements in DEI and advancements in industry decarbonisation , Dyer says she has seen the shift in how venues and organisers work together to support each other and partner on risk sharing .

She adds , “ We ’ ve all seen the rise of experiential events and people wanting to make the most of those live events that they attend , particularly now during the cost-of-living crisis .”

As for the legacy of Eurovision , Dyer says it has already led to new enquiries from clients and reduced the number of vacancies at the venue , as well as put ‘ brand Liverpool ’ back on the international stage .

“ In recent years , we have seen more challenges in terms of recruitment in the industry . Hopefully , an event like Eurovision will show people what a fabulous industry we work in . There is more work that we can be doing collectively to showcase this .

“ We have struggled in the past to get everyone to understand the power of live events . Eurovision was a living example of what major events can do . It ’ s reminded the current Government just how important the events industry is .”

Autumn — 13