This year’s AIPC Apex Award will be one of the most hotly contested ever, with 27 finalists vying for the recognition as “World’s BestCongress Centre”. With all preliminary analyses now complete, these 27 have emerged from an overall field of 36 entrants, up some 30% over the previous competition in 2008.
“These are competitive times in the industry, and a record number of centres have seen the AIPC Apex Award as a way to distinguish
themselves”, says AIPC President Edgar Hirt. “Our members also understand that regardless of whether or not they win, their
participation guarantees them a highly organized assessment of their centre’s performance as seen through the eyes of their international clients, which is a huge benefit in itself”.
Finalists have been selected on their having met all competition criteria, including identifying a sufficient number of client
evaluators to meet the requirements for the competition. The winner will be selected on the basis of how well identified clients rate each centre in terms of a variety of criteria that related to centres performance.
“This year we also had a higher average number of client references per participant, which means that the assessments going into the Award are more rigorous than ever”, said Hirt.
The 27 finalists for 2010 are:
Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre
Adelaide Convention Centre
Congress Center Basel
Belfast Waterfront
Bregenzer Festspiel- und Kongresshaus Gmbh
Brighton Centre
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Cairns Convention Centre
Cape Town International Convention Centre
Darwin Convention Centre
International Convention Center Durban
Messe Congress Graz
Congress und Messe Innsbruck
International Convention Center Jerusalem
Kyoto International Conference Center
Lisboa Congress Centre
m:con – Congress Center Rosengarten
Le Corum Congress Center
Palais des congrès de Montréal
Nantes International Convention Centre
Kursaal Centre
Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre
Congress Centre-Sofia, National Palace of Culture
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
Tampere Hall
Valencia Conference Centre
Hofburg Vienna
The AIPC Apex Award is made bi-annually on the basis of an independent “blind” evaluation process to ensure an objective analysis
of evaluation criteria. These criteria address a series of factors including congress facilities, project management, catering and
technical capabilities, and result in a collective score that represents the best overall performer. The 2010 AIPC Apex Award winner
will be announced at this year’s AIPC Annual Conference in Liverpool[1].
AIPC is the pre-eminent international association of convention centres, with a mission of encouraging, supporting and recognizing
excellence in centre management. Its programs are directed toward enhancing the profile and performance of its members, who are purpose built facilities whose primary purpose is to accommodate and service meetings, conventions, congresses and exhibitions.
The AIPC is a global network of 165 leading centres in 53 countries, with the active involvement of more than 650 centre management professionals.
