
Looking for a venue for your conference? Look no further, as here are some of the biggest and best in Europe guaranteed to meet your organisation’s needs.
ExCel London
Situated in London’s Docklands, near to Canary Wharf, ExCel London is one of the UK’s premier conference facilities with the ability to accommodate from 20 to 20,000 delegates, under one roof. The venue hosts plenty of facilities including six onsite hotels with over 1500 hotel rooms within a five minute walk of the venue’s event facilities. Conveniently, the site also offers over 30 bars, cafes and restaurants, 4000 car parking spaces, and crucially provides easy access to the rest of London by DLR and tube. It is also conveniently located adjacent to London City Airport and 35 minutes from Stansted.
ExCeL London was named as the UK’s number one purpose-built venue by Conference and Incentive Travel Magazine’s readers in Summer 2005.
ICC Birmingham
What better place to choose for a convention in the UK than The International Conference Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, host of many momentous events including the Birmingham G8 Summit, the NATO Defence Ministers Conference, and the International Olympic Committee Congress.
Situated in the heart of Britain’s second city, it is easily accessible by all modes of travel and easy to reach from major cities including London, Cardiff, Bristol and Manchester. The ICC is capable of holding any event ranging from 3 to 3000 participants in its 11 halls and 10 executive meeting halls. Support throughout every stage of planning is provided by the centre. On booking, companies automatically get a comprehensive package of technical support from a team of fully-trained and experienced technicians.
Amsterdam RAI
The Amsterdam RAI is the Netherlands premier conference facility hosting more than fifty major international congresses, seventy trade fairs and exhibitions, and over one thousand conferences, meetings and smaller functions annually.
Covering 87,000 m2 with 11 multifunctional halls available for exhibitions, trade fairs, cultural or sport events there is seating available for up to 12,900 participants. The Congress Centre comprises 22 congress and conference rooms with capacity for up to 1750 persons. All of the halls and conference rooms are air-conditioned and offer all necessary facilities.
The facility is ideally situated in the south of Amsterdam’s business quarter and is only a ten-minute drive from Amsterdam airport. The centre features parking for approximately 4600 cars, in immediate vicinity there is a parking place for another 7500 vehicles and also for coaches. The RAI's landing stage serves as the access point for canal boat trip. Throughout the summer visitors can enjoy the artificial beach, which has been created adjacent to the RAI, along with hammocks, beach seats, big pillows, terraces and lounge music.
Berlin ICC
Rightly deserving its reputation as one of the leading convention centres in the world, the Berlin ICC is a perfect choice as a venue for events with the capacity to house parties from 20 to 9100 in its 80 halls and rooms. The impressive building, built by the architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte, is considered one of the most outstanding landmarks of post-war Germany. The ICC Berlin was awarded the World Travel Award as “World’s Leading Conference & Convention Centre 2005” the second time in a row. Each year, the venue hosts some 500 national and international congresses attended by 250,000 participants, and 70 entertainment events with audiences totalling 200,000.
The enormous indoor exhibition space 160,000 m2 and consists of 26 interconnected exhibition halls. Regardless of weather, it is an excellent place for visitors to tour trade events. Exhibition space can either be divided up our used in its entirety. Conveniently, the venue is also able to cater for several events simultaneously.
Geneva Palexpo
Geneva’s location at the crossroads of southern and northern Europe make it the ideal place for converging and negotiating. The Palexpo’s position means that it is easily accessible from the international airport, railway and motorway. The centre is highly equipped to deal with any event including conferences and exhibitions with the capacity for 200 to 15,000 conference participants. The venue’s 70,000 m2 of exhibit/conference space is room enough for 100,000 visitors. Experienced event organizers are on-hand to advise and organize all aspects of a company’s event from defining the type of event through to budgeting, management and control, and finally to satisfaction and impact surveys.
City of Manchester Stadium
Recently voted one of the most iconic buildings in the UK, the City of Manchester Stadium is stand out as a unique conference venue. Recently awarded the Excellence in Business Tourism Award, by the region’s development agency, NWDA, the venue was praised for its professional Hospitality, Conference and Events team who demonstrated outstanding levels of professional service. The venue has the ability to accommodate 48,000 spectators and provide five-star hospitality for parties ranging from 10 to 1400. The venue has 12 purpose-built function rooms and restaurants in the stadium, all-suitable for a wide range of event and hospitality requirements.
Bella Center,Copenhagen
The vibrant city of Copenhagen can provide excellent conference facilities thanks to the Bella Centre. The facility is capable of hosting a wide variety of events including fairs, exhibits, meetings of all sizes, international conferences, and upscale functions. Within the facility is the Copenhagen Conference Centre where a variety of meetings and conferences of varying sizes are held each year. The centre offers access to broadband and wireless network services throughout the venue including the conference rooms. Copenhagen Catering Service offers high-end, all-inclusive catering services for events accommodating from 250 to 10,000 guests. Its convenient location means that is easily accessed either by car, train or plane.
Disneyland, Paris
Not simply the haunt of thrill seekers, Disneyland Paris is also a established venue for conferences catering for over 1000 major corporate events a year. Meeting specialists are available to help plan events from start to finish. Actors and characters, speakers, singers and dancers, costumes and set designers and builders, as well as state-of-the-art sound, and lighting are available to make the experience a memorable one. Orange wi-fi hotspots are available to ensure delegates can keep in contact with one another.
Accommodation is also plentiful with seven Disney themed hotels and a further six either on site or in the vicinity guaranteeing plenty of room for the business traveller. The resort also provides a wide range of team building activities including traditional Chinese boat racing and treasure hunts.
www.bellacenter.dk/english/bella+center
Grimaldi Forum, Monaco
Idyllically situated along the seafront of Monaco’s eastern “Larvotto” beach quarter, right next to Monaco’s beautiful Japanese Garden, the Grimaldi Forum, is a unique place to hold a business conference or event. Easily accessed from the international airport (only 25 km away) and is close to Monaco’s Heliport, international rail, highways and the sea. There is also a plentiful selection of accommodation, with the Principality of Monaco boasting an impressive 2200 hotel rooms plus a further 15,800 in the surrounding area. The centre’s situation means that there are plenty of attractions to enjoy during attendees downtime including golf at the 18-hole Monte-Carlo Golf Club, jogging itineraries overlooking the beaches, marine Sports such as sailing, windsurfing, diving and visits to the "Jardin Exotique", "Chemin des Sculptures".
Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
Following a major refurbishment in 2003 the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) holds its own as one of Europe’s most modern venues providing an excellent facility for conferences of any size. It hosts a wide range of events, from conferences and exhibitions, corporate events and small meetings, banquets and weddings to shows and concerts including headline acts such as Franz Ferdinand and Oasis. Conferences can hold up to 2000 guests. Meeting rooms of various sizes are available to ensure that all organizations large or small are catered for. Good transport links mean that the centre is easily accessed from the UK and abroad. The centre is conveniently located near to the city and is only a 15-minute drive away from the international airport. There is also amble room for parking at their free car park, which can hold 4000 cars. Other facilities include a café and also the availability of wireless broadband.