Since opening its doors in 2019, the International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) has been up against a pandemic and multiple lockdowns, but now it’s back to business, welcoming large events.
The ICC hosted its largest exhibition to date, as part of the ISBA 2021 Annual Conference (Independent Schools’ Bursars Association).
The two-day ISBA Annual Conference on 23-24 November brought more than 1,000 attendees to the convention centre, with more than 170 exhibition stands and 400 delegates.
The exhibition is focused on assisting school finance managers in the successful administrative, financial and operational management of their schools.
The conference programme included education sessions from experts in the independent school sector on subjects such as sustainability, diversity, staff wellbeing and artificial intelligence and networking.
Independent Schools’ Bursars Association chief executive, David Woodgate said: “As a new venue, ICC Wales has clearly been very well planned in terms of the flow of the rooms. The auditorium is state-of-the-art and our exhibitors really liked the ease with which they were able to get all their equipment in and set their stands up in the main hall. There is room for people to spread out which is important, it’s a big capacity facility. The staff have shown a can-do attitude and been very welcoming, cooperative and helpful.”
ICC Wales chief executive Ian Edwards, added: “We are delighted that ISBA chose our venue for their annual conference. The event had previously been held at Celtic Manor but it had outgrown the facilities there in recent years, so it was great to be able to welcome ISBA back to Wales and see such a busy exhibition and conference taking advantage of the greater capacities at ICC Wales. We were able to provide them with flexible solutions for their plenary and breakout sessions, and it’s fantastic to see all our facilities so full of activity once again.”
Since reopening, ICC Wales has also staged the International Golf Travel Market, the first time the event has been held in the UK, the Blas Cymru/Taste Wales showcase linking Welsh food producers to UK buyers, and a number of concerts including a Tina Turner tribute and a Christmas on Broadway celebration.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
