Conferences Group Magazine

Conferences Group Magazine March 2015 Major Events & Their Impact Rugby World Cup Venues

Issue

12

Traditional

or C O NTEMP OR A R Y

CONFERENCING

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CONTEMPORARY

• 8 meeting rooms accommodating up to 70 delegates

• 8 meeting rooms accommodating up to 300 delegates

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WEST LODGE PARK YO U R C O U N T RY R E T R E AT

West Lodge Park Hotel Cockfosters Road, Hadley Wood, Herts EN4 0PY T: 020 8216 3900 E: westlodgepark@bealeshotels.co.uk

Beales Hotel Comet Way, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9NG T: 01707 288 500 E: hatfield@bealeshotels.co.uk

The perfect venues for any style of conference or meeting.

Hertfordshire’s finest 4 star family hotel business dating back to 1769.

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Inside this Issue...

Editor’s Letter

4. M AJOR EVENTS & THEIR IMPACT

In this edition of our magazine we take a look at the impact of major events on the meeting and conference sector. In particular we focus on the forthcoming rugby world cup, which will be held this September.

6. RUGBY WORLD CUP VENUES 8. BRIGHTON 8. LEEDS 9. GLOUCESTER 9. LEICESTER 10. MANCHESTER 10. CARDIFF 14. LONDON 16. EXETER 16. NEWCASTLE 18. MILTON KEYNES 18. BIRMINGHAM

This event actually generates the second highest attendances of any single sport event, after the football world cup. While the Olympics (a multisport event) are much larger in scale, many of the benefits accrue to a single host city. Events like the Rugby world cup are hosted in multiple cities, resulting in a more even distribution of the benefits across the country.

There are eleven cities that will host games in the UK and we take the opportunity to profile some amazing venues in those cities.

We hope that you enjoy this edition and as ever I would be delighted to get any feedback or comments.

Simon Thompson

Rugby World Cup

2m

spectators

446,000 international visitors Birmingham

Glouster

Manchester

Brighton

Leeds

Milton Kaynes

Cardiff

Leicester

Newcastle

Exeter

London

Rugby

£2.2bn net benefit

Major Events & Their Impact It is quite common, when a country secures a major event, such as the World Cup, for its leaders to quantify the economic benefits associated with the event. A good example is the most recent world cup, where the Brazilian government talked about $48 billion of extra economic activity as a result of winning the bid.

The reality can be much more complicated. Recently it was claimed that the Olympics generated an extra £9billion of economic activity for the UK. Within this, the picture can be more complex – particularly for those in the meetings and events sector. During the event there was actually a 5% decrease in visitors to London and some areas of the city more traditionally associated with tourism – such as the West End – suffered a 50% reduction in visitors during the Olympics.

During such a large scale event during such a large scale event ‘traditional’ tourists can be deterred from visiting the host country, fearing the disruption caused by it. Furthermore, the focus of an event like the Olympics on one host city can limit the immediate impact of the benefits.

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The rugby world cup is a different proposition in that it will feature in eleven cities across the UK. These include major centres such as London, Manchester and Cardiff, which regularly benefit from hosting large scale events.

However, the schedule also includes the more provincial centres of Exeter, Leicester and Gloucester – bringing more diversity to the places that will reap any benefits.

While not on the same scale as the Football World Cup or the Olympics, the Rugby World Cup is still one of the biggest single sports events in the world and will draw over 2 million spectators. Furthermore some 446,000 international visitors are anticipated, who will contribute £869 million in direct expenditure – with an overall net benefit £2.2 billion to the UK. This without the downsides of the Olympics, where the focus on one city limited the spread of economic benefit and disruption to the standard tourist trade.

CONFERENCE WITH CONFIDENCE One mile from Heathrow Airport, 14 flexible meeting rooms, capacity to hold up to 1400 delegates, 350 bedrooms with complimentary access to Imagine Spa - plus a choice of 7 dining options.

Lots of hidden extras, no hidden cost High Speed Wi-Fi

Audio Visual Equipment

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12% Commission*

Airport Transfers

Upgraded Themed Breaks

contact the meetings & events team and quote ‘hidden extras’

hilton.com / heathrow t 5 | T: 0175 3 76 6 521 | E: heathrow t 5.event s @hilton.com *Commission inclusive of VAT, subject to availability, terms and conditions apply, contact the hotel for further details.

Rugby World Cup Venues

Rugby World Cup Venues Find the biggest and best venues for your events during this years Rugby World Cup.

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For over 125 years the Lincolnshire Showground has been a pinnacle within the County, providing a meeting place for a whole host of events.

We have evolved into an outstanding site hosting conferences, exhibitions, charity dinners, concerts, festivals, weddings, equine and livestock events, rallies and vehicle shows.

For anyone looking to reduce their carbon footprint the award winning Epic Centre, situation on the Showground is the ideal venue.

As one of the greenest conference centres in the UK, it gives you the chance to experience corporate or social events against a backdrop of environmental sensitivity.

The award-winning centre is a diverse, multifunctional venue which is perfect for meetings and events of all shapes and sizes, catering for 2-1200 people.

Our ground floor is a vast flexible space (1,836 square metres) which can be split into three halls for medium sized events, while the upper floor has six suites overlooking the picturesque countryside.

Our competitive Day Delegate Rates include menus designed to include the freshest local produce, in addition to free parking, complimentary wifi and state of the art facilities. For more information visit www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk · events@lincolnshireshowground.co.uk · 01522 522900 · Facebook/lincolnshireshowground · Twitter/lincsshowground

Rugby World Cup Venues

BRIGHTON

LEEDS

Games in Brighton are taking place in Falmer, a short distance from Brighton and Hove. The stadium has been constructed at a cost of £93m and according to the Rugby World Cup Official Website the ground has won plaudits for its semi-circular stand roofs and tubular supporting steelwork from both fans of sport and architecture

Leeds is set to host two pool matches on September 26 and September 27, 2015. The city has a long association and passion for Rugby Union, so Leeds is set to come alive for the duration of the tournament, with an exciting fanzone in the heart of the city, Rugby Union heritage tours at Headingley Stadium and amazing food and drink experiences created especially for rugby fans.

Venues in Brighton Brighton Dome

Venues in Leeds Temple Newsam

Brighton Dome is situated a stone’s throw from the Royal Pavilion at the heart of Brighton’s Cultural Quarter.

Originally built as the Prince Regent’s royal riding house in 1805, Brighton Dome combines the best of Brighton’s past, present and future. An impressive and flexible setting for any conference or event, the venue boasts both Grade I and II listed heritage and is part of the famous Royal Pavilion estate in the heart of Brighton’s cultural quarter.

Temple Newsam House and Estate boasts a Tudor Jacobean Mansion set within 1500 acres of beautiful parkland including a rare breeds farm. It offers a unique and flexible location if you are looking for somewhere special for your meeting, training session or team away day.

With five flexible spaces under one iconic roof, Brighton Dome is one of the most versatile and stylish venues to hire in the South.

Conferences UK have over 45 meeting venues listed with almost 80,000 meeting rooms to choose from.

More Brighton Venues

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Conferences UK have currently have over 98 meeting venues listed in Leeds, meaning there are around 167,000 meeting rooms to book.

More Leeds Venues

GLOUCESTER

LEICESTER

Gloucester is set to welcome the world to rugby and to Kingsholm Stadium in 2015, with no fewer than six different teams coming to the town during the event.

Leicester will host three matches at Leicester City Stadium

Venues in Gloucester St Michael’s Tower at Gloucester Cross

St Michael’s Tower stands on the highest part of the city of Gloucester where the four main streets cross.

Some 25 metres in height it was built in the footprint of the nave of a previous church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. It was built c.1465 and has been a familiar sight to Gloucestrians for nearly 550 years, throughout the reigns of 23 kings and queens.

Conferences UK have 45 venues listed in Gloucester, making just under 40,000 meeting rooms available for hire.

More Gloucester Venues

Venues in Leicester King Power Stadium

In addition to hosting the matches, the King Power Stadium is a truly flexible business and entertainment venue, incorporating 10 Function Suites, Ground Floor Exhibition Space, Restaurant, Sports Bar facility and On Site Express Hotel. Set in the heart of the Midlands with excellent transport networks and ample car parking for all guests. The stadium can cater for a range of events from a small meeting for 5 or a major conference for 550.

Conferences UK currently list 62 venues which offer 96,000 meeting rooms in the city. For more information visit More Leicester Venues

9

Rugby World Cup Venues

MANCHESTER

CARDIFF

Venues in Manchester Manchester City Stadium

Venues in Cardiff Millenium Stadium

Manchester City’s stadium has been announced as a host venue for the Rugby World Cup 2015, and will be the only stadium to stage an England game outside Twickenham.

The Rugby World Cup 2015 (RWC 2015) is coming to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in Sept/Oct 2015. The city is hosting eight matches in total, including six pool matches and two quarter-finals.

On 10 October, the home of the Blues will be packed with England fans cheering on their team as they seek to qualify for the tournament’s knock-out stages.

The city is home to two other amazing venues – Manchester Central and event city.

Conferences UK features 181 venues listed in Manchester, and over 400,000 meeting rooms.

More Manchester Venues

With a total of seven suites, accommodating up to 300 delegates, the stadium is a flexible venue for conferences, exhibitions, meetings, dinners, weddings and themed parties. The 124 Executive Boxes overlook the hallowed turf and can cater for smaller meetings or perform well as training rooms, break out space and intimate dining venues.

While Cardiff itself has over 61 meeting venues and 144,807 rooms.

More Cardiff Venues

10

Nottingham’s Albert Hall Conference Centre is situated in the City Centre at the heart of Britain’s communications network. Easily accessed by road, rail and air, Nottingham serves as the ideal location for your Company’s Conference, Exhibition or Training Course.

Built at the turn of the 20th century the Albert Hall is grade II listed and sympathetically combines traditional architecture with modern facilities. Established as an independent conference and events venue for over 25 years we have built a strong reputation for high standards, and quality of service.

Fresh food is prepared and cooked on site by our professional experienced chefs and our specialised conference team pay close attention to detail to ensure every event runs smoothly.

On many occasions we are able to offer exclusive use of our facilities, and always provide an individually tailored service to all our clients.

11 flexible and adaptable suites are available to suit requirements, from one to one interview’s, to conference facilities for 700 delegates. The Great Hall offers unique facilities for conferences of 150 to 700 delegates, whilst the Osborne Suite has been designed with meetings and training in mind, offering five adjacent syndicate suites.

Accommodation is readily available with 5 leading hotels, all within a short walking distance.

Web: www.alberthallnottingham.co.uk Email: enquiries@alberthallnottingham.com Phone: 0115 950 0411 Address : Albert Hall Conference Centre, North Circus Street, Nottingham, NG1 5AA

WelCome HearT oF england ConFerenCe and evenTs CenTre oFFers aFFordable ConFerenCe, evenT and meeTing spaCe in THe very CenTre oF england. our purpose built conference centre is set in 160 acres of Warwickshire countryside and woodlands and benefits from excellent motorway links to the m6 and m42.

We are 10 minutes’ drive from birmingham international airport. and train station.

ConFerenCe & evenT FaCiliTies We have 6 purpose built meeting and conference spaces that can host between 2 and 450 delegates and a marquee that can comfortably accommodate a dinner for up to 500 guests. our event rooms are complete with extensive audio visual equipment, built in lighting, staging and pa system, wall mounted screens, lCd projectors and offer air-conditioning and free WiFi.

The dedicated Tea and Coffee lounge is ideal for those all-important comfort breaks or just to catch up on a few e-mails in between meetings utilising the free WiFi. The centre is extremely versatile and has excellent product demonstration areas making us the first choice for product launches and exhibitions.

High quality, flexible meeting and event rooms ideal for product launches and exhibitions magical party nights and themed events vehicle access and product demonstration areas extensive grounds and woodlands, great for fun days & team building in house event management and technical team private dining and bar facilities

We have an in-house event management and technical team who are on hand to assist your every need.

WHaT We do

For further info www.heartofengland.co.uk or call 01676 540333.

We specialise in team building, fun days, product launches and corporate entertainment.

With our extensive grounds we offer the midlands’ largest range of family fun days, corporate team building activities and motivational events. We own all of our equipment and manage everything in-house, passing this discount on to our clients. our onsite fine dining restaurant provides high quality corporate catering and accommodation can be booked in our stylish country residence old Hall House.

We can create and manage any kind of event at any venue.

We also offer weddings in our magnificent suites and the elegant lake side marquee.

We offer ample free onsite car parking.

Call us now to discuss your requirements and reserve your dates

01676 540333 email sales@heartofengland.co.uk www.heartofengland.co.uk

Rugby World Cup Venues

LONDON As you might expect London features heavily as a host city for the forthcoming world cup, with three venues hosting games.

Venues in London Olympic Stadium

Twickenham

Wembley Stadium

With 25 dedicated meeting and conference rooms offers a state of the art modern and flexible meeting space for all conferences and events.

With thousands of venues listed, including Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5 Conferences UK can offer a range of meeting solutions in the capital city,.

More London Venues

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EC4 at EventCity is Manchester’s biggest and most flexible conference space. It can be divided to host 300 to 5,000 delegates. Throw in award-winning catering and state-of-the-art theatrical staging and you’ve got a venue that can cater for every style and size of conference you can imagine.

Dedicated conference space with star cloth walls, high-performance lighting and stunning AV 100mb Wi-Fi throughout the building Award-winning catering plus planning and operations team Over 1,000 hotel rooms nearby 3,000 FREE car parking spaces Accessible by ALL transport routes For more information or to arrange a visit, please call our sales team on 0843 487 5559.

Experience

at

the extraordinary www.eventcity.co.uk

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Rugby World Cup Venues

EXETER

NEWCASTLE

Venues in Exeter Sandy Park

Venues in Newcastle St James Park

Exeter securing approval to be one of the Host Cities presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for the city.

Hosing three games in October, St James Park, is (outside of London) the second largest stadium in England. The stadium is also an award winning conference venue with seven meeting rooms and the ability to host up to 450.

Three Rugby World Cup 2015 matches will be held at Sandy Park , which is located just outside Exeter with a capacity of 12,300.

And has recently undergone a multi million pound makeover in 2014, almost doubling the size of the conferencing facilities.

Sandy park is just one of 41 meeting venues listed for Exeter with 58,000 meeting rooms available currently.

In addition to first class venues such as Jesmond Dene House.

Conferences UK lists 73 meeting venues, with over 130,000 meeting rooms.

More Newcastle Venues

More Exeter Venues

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The ultimate choice and setting for any conference or meeting requirement • 11 fully air conditioned, purpose built conference and meeting rooms in 4 flexible suites.

• Ideal layout for multi setting exhibitions or conferencing.

• Spacious lounge area provides the perfect setting for breakout periods.

• On Site Car parking for 300+ vehicles and coach parking available.

Located on the town’s famous promenade, Hilton Blackpool overlooks the Irish Sea and is close to a host of top attractions.

It has great transport links with M55/M6 just a short drive away and Blackpool International Airport is 5 miles away. Blackpool North Train Station, is within walking distance, covers major UK cities direct to London/Edinburgh.

LivingWell HealthClub which includes an Express Gym (open 24 hours a day), has an Indoor Heated Swimming Pool, Sauna and Steam Room and Revitalise Beauty Therapist.

www.hilton.com/blackpool • 01253 627977 North Promenade, Blackpool, FY1 2JQ www.blackpool.hilton.com

Rugby World Cup Venues

Milton Keynes

Birmingham

Venues in Exeter Stadium MK

Venues in Birmingham Villa Park

Stadium MK, will host three games during the rugby world cup. Normally the home of the football team Milton Keynes Dons, the stadium has recently had its capacity expanded by 10,000 to enable it to seat over 30,000 ruby fans at the forthcoming world cup. For conferences and events, the stadium offer 5 meeting rooms, with a maximum individual capacity of 1,200.

Home to Aston Villa football club, Villa Park will host two matches in late September. With a match day capacity of over 42,000, the stadium has recently benefited from refurbished function rooms. There are now over 20 meeting rooms available and the venue can accommodate up to 700 delegates.

The city is home to many great meeting venues including and 40 other venues offering 80,126 meeting rooms.

More Milton Kaynes Venues

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Birmingham central location makes it ideal for meetings and conferences. Currently there are 183 venues listed on Conferences UK and this means there are over 348,301 meeting rooms to choose from.

More Birmingham Venues

Manchester Central

Where Manchester meets the world.

Small conference and meeting spaces for 40 to 450 people.

With day delegate rates from £40 per person, we’re ready to ensure your meeting’s success.

• A location in the heart of City Centre Manchester, minutes from public transport hubs and with its own on-site car park • Fully divisible and flexible spaces • Free Wi-fi for all

• State of the art audiovisual equipment • World-class catering and hospitality

Contact Marta Woronowicz +44(0)161 827 8760 or w.marta@manchestercentral.co.uk

www.manchestercentral.co.uk

The Old Church, Albert Hill Street, Didsbury, Manchester M20 6RF Telephone: 0845 351 9917