International Convention Centre Wales

The International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) (Welsh: Canolfan Gynadledda Rhyngwladol Cymru) is a 5,000-capacity venue in the city of Newport, South Wales. The venue has a main auditorium with fixed seating for 1,500 delegates, six rooms of exhibition space, and 43,000 square feet (4,000 m2) of pillar-free space. ICC Wales is located on the Celtic Manor Resort site which hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup and 2014 NATO summit.

International Convention Centre Wales
Canolfan Gynadledda Rhyngwladol Cymru
General information
StatusOpen
TypeConvention Centre
LocationNewport, South Wales
Coordinates51.602713°N 2.928857°W / 51.602713; -2.928857
Construction startedJune 2017
Opening24 September 2019
Cost£84m
OwnerCeltic Manor Resort and Welsh Government
Design and construction
ArchitectScott Brownrigg
Main contractorSisk Group
Website
https://www.iccwales.com/

The venue is a public/private enterprise with Welsh Government providing £22.5m grant funding and taking a 50/50 share of ownership with Celtic Manor.[1]

History

The construction work, which was carried out by Sisk Group,[2] began in 2017[3] and the facility opened its doors for the first time on the 14 September 2019.[4] It was officially opened 24 September 2019.[5]

Floor space

The venue totals 26,000 square metres and has a stated delegate capacity of over 5,000. The main hall is approximately 4,000 sq metres and also has a 1,500 seated auditorium. The outdoor plaza is 2,500 sq metres.[6]

Transport

The venue is served by an hourly bus service from Newport railway station and Newport bus station, with a journey time of 25 minutes from the city centre to the venue door. The service runs between 6.25am and 6.35pm every hour at ten to the hour drop off and ten past the hour pickup. [7]

It is four miles east of Newport city centre and the major road access is M4 motorway junction 24, then B4237 Chepstow Road. The site is equidistant from both Bristol Airport and Cardiff Airport (31 miles).

Events

The first event held at the Centre was the annual three-day Association of Stoma Care Nurses UK 2019 conference.[8]

On 18 September 2019, the venue hosted the "An Experience With" series, where Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to an audience.[9] On 20 September the UK Independence Party held its annual party conference at the venue.[10] The venue held the first BBC Cymru Wales Live debate on 22 September, which is a new Question Time style debate show focusing on Welsh issues.[6] This was shortly followed by the inaugural UK Space Conference[11] from 24 to 26 September, whose headline speaker was astronaut Tim Peake.[12]

The venue hosted the WaterSource 19 conference on 1 October led by Welsh Water.[13] This was followed by the Green Party of England and Wales national conference on 4 October.[14]

References
  1. ICC Wales ownership
  2. "Sisk signs for £84m Celtic Manor expansion". Construction Index. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. Ltd, Insider Media. "Event to mark start of ICC Wales construction". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. "UK's ICC Wales opens its doors". Exhibition World. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  5. ICC Wales official opening
  6. "UK's ICC Wales opens its doors". Exhibition World. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  7. "All the changes to Newport Bus services- including two new journeys and one scrapped route". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  8. Hughes, Marcus (2019-09-24). "Inside Wales' brand new International Convention Centre". walesonline. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  9. "Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming to Newport - here's how you can get tickets to hear 'untold stories' about his life". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  10. Davies, Cemlyn (2019-09-20). "UKIP conference amidst row over leader's no-show". Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  11. Hughes, Marcus (2019-09-24). "Inside Wales' brand new International Convention Centre". walesonline. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  12. "British astronaut Tim Peake among speakers at Space Conference at International Convention Centre". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  13. Water, Dwr Cymru Welsh. "Dwr Cymru Welsh Water | WaterSource 19 Conference". www.dwrcymru.com (in Burmese). Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  14. "Ukip and Green Party to hold conferences at Newport's International Convention Centre". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
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