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Firmly on
the map
Olivia Powell caught up with
Adrian Evans, assistant director
of conferences and exhibitions
at The ACC Liverpool Group, to
discuss growth plans
S
ince its opening in 2015, the ACC
has hosted more than 116 events
with around 128,000 visitors expected
in 2019 (up 21.6 % on last year), firmly
establishing the venue on the event
circuit.
Exhibition Centre Liverpool is
part of Europe’s only purpose-built
interconnected arena, convention and
exhibition centre, with the exhibition
centre interconnected to its sister
venues via a link bridge. The campus
offers three hotels on-site, including the
integrated 4-star Pullman Liverpool,
and is located on the banks of
Liverpool’s World Heritage waterfront
within a lively city offering a practically
untouched consumer market to launch
new profiles in.
The arena and convention centre
opened on 12 January 2008, coinciding
with the official opening ceremony
for Capital of Culture and heralding
regeneration in the city.
By 2011 the venues had already
welcomed almost 2 million visitors
across 500 events and were looking
to expand. This desire for growth
culminated in March 2011, when
plans were announced to build a new
waterfront exhibition centre.
Since its launch, Exhibition Centre
Liverpool has become an integral
part of The ACC Liverpool Group,
- regularly hosting exhibitions,
conferences, and dinners, as well as
providing flexible spaces for leading
sporting events such as the Netball
World Cup and Matchroom Boxing.
In 2018, Exhibition Centre Liverpool
hosted 29 separate events and
welcomed more than 105,000 visitors.
The venue attracts those in both the
B2B and B2C sectors, hosting a number
of trade and consumer exhibitions each
year. It has an established trade sector
which includes national events, like
the International Festival for Business,
Digital Manufacturing Week and the
Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (now
UKIFDA). It has also played host some
large-scale conferences with exhibition
elements including the Labour Party
Conference in 2018 and Revo in 2019, as
well as launching new event successes
within the North West, including The
Gin To My Tonic show (now an EN
Indy award winner for Best Consumer
Launch) and For The Love of Wrestling.
The venue also has an impressive
sustainability record, with 925
photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on
the roof, allowing the venue to generate
its own renewable energy for the next
20 years. In the four years since they
were installed, the PV panels have
produced £28,000 worth of electricity
and reduced the venue’s CO2 emissions
equivalent to planting 4259 trees.
Exhibition Centre Liverpool is one
of the most technologically advanced
venues in the exhibition industry.
An outdoor 4.5m x 2.5m LED screen
welcomes visitors and clients alike,
followed by a multitude of movable
digital totems that can display digital
signage. A 1GB fibre optic line and
free PDQ networks ensure exhibitors
can make transactions with the public
without delay. The venue also boasts a
blank canvas of 8,100sqm via its main
halls that can be transformed into
many different configurations, with the
entire space sub-divisible into three
different sections, ensuring that the
exhibition centre can suit any event.
This is complemented by expansive
waterfront views along The Atrium,
The Lounge and The Deck providing
natural light as well as eight flexible
meeting rooms.
Evans comments: “We are
continuously looking at ways to
enhance our exhibition centre to
ensure it remains one of the leading
venues in the UK and continues to
attract fantastic exhibitions. For
example, plans are ongoing for the
major development and investment of
Kings Dock, where Exhibition Centre
Liverpool is situated.”
One of the selling points of the
centre is its proximity to the city
centre. In addition, it is connected
to rail, road and air networks; this
provides a seamless experience for
organisers, exhibitors and visitors. It is
also hoped that this accessibility will
encourage more event organisers to
select Exhibition Centre Liverpool. EN
November — 63