Waterfront Hall is Europe’s top conference centre

Belfast's Waterfront Hall has been named the runner-up in the international 2002 Apex Award for the World’s Best Conference Centre.

While the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre beat the leading Belfast venue into second place in this year's Apex Awards, the Waterfront has been hailed as the top congress centre in Europe. Administered by the Association Internationale de Palais de Congres (AIPC), the leading professional body for congress centre management and executive events worldwide the organisation has members on every continent.

Councillor Robin Newton, Chairman of the Waterfront Hall Board, said: "This award is absolute confirmation that the Waterfront Hall is now regarded as not only an international centre of excellence, but as a leader among conference centres right across the world."

The participant centres were evaluated by an international panel of professional convention centre clientèle, thereby setting a true international standard of excellence. Centres were assessed across nine key areas: Congress Building; Technical Equipment; Exhibition Area; Project Management; Catering; Concluding Evaluation of the Congress Centre; Destination; Accessibility & Location and Hotel Facilities.

General Manager, Tim Husbands, said: "To be officially acknowledged as the best conference centre in Europe - and second in the world - is a true reflection of the staff’s professional expertise, level of quality customer care and the state of the art facilities we afford to all of our clients in what is an increasingly competitive global environment. The magnitude of this achievement simply cannot be overstated."

Since its opening in 1997, the Waterfront Hall has contracted and hosted over 1100 conferences, exhibitions and meetings, attracting tens of thousands of visitors, delegates and their partners to Belfast, business estimated to be worth in the region of £24m to the City.

Around 40% of all national and international conferences coming to Belfast during the next six years will be held at the Waterfront Hall.

This year’s Apex Award ceremony took place at the AIPC’s General Assembly in Tenerife.

The winner and runners-up were selected from a short list of 22 AIPC member centres drawn from a total current membership of 124 convention and congress facilities representing 47 countries around the world.

(SP)