Belfast, Ireland will soon attract larger conferences when the 13,123-sf expansion to the Belfast Waterfront conference center debuts in May. Once opened, the new conference center is expected to bring more than 55,000 attendees and about $140.3 million to the city by 2020.
Not only did the addition nearly double the center’s conference space to about 23,000 sf, but it also added the latest technologies. The center’s 2,223-seat main auditorium features new sound and lighting technology as well as video distribution capabilities to all areas of the venue. It also has two exterior terraces with riverside views and prefunction spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the downtown landscape.
More than 30 international and national events—the World Credit Union conference in July and the BBC Good Food Show in October, to name a few—have already booked the conference center over the next three years. The first conference in the new center will be the annual international Surgical Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) in May, which will attract 2,000 attendees to the city.
“The new developments at Belfast Waterfront perfectly meet the requirements of our International Surgical Congress, allowing us to stage large-scale plenary symposia as well as intimate ‘meet the expert’ sessions,” says Nicholas Gair, chief executive of ASGBI. “Additionally, the impressive riverside setting and discreet design of the major refurbishment provide an ideal backdrop for our event, and the famous Belfast hospitality offers a multitude of unique venues for our social occasions.”
