The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is preparing to welcome more than 12,000 Lions Convention delegates through its doors next week, kicking off a packed 2010-11 for the venue.
The Centre will be a key venue for delegates attending the international convention, with more than half its exhibition space booked out for the five-day event, which runs from June 28 to July 2.
All delegates at the 93rd International Convention will register at the Centre, which will provide lunch for more than 3000 delegates a day. The venue will also host the event’s exhibition along with its first Global Youth Music Competition.
A 750-delegate meeting of Lions District Governors will also be held at the Centre over June 25-28 in the lead up to the Convention. Meanwhile, the Darling Harbour precinct will be buzzing when all delegates visit the Centre early on the Convention’s final day to vote for their new President.
Plenary sessions and an international show, including a massive opening ceremony featuring David Campbell, Jessica Mauboy and Marcia Hines, will be held at the nearby Sydney Entertainment Centre, also managed by the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre Chief Executive Ton van Amerongen said the event was a fitting beginning to a busy financial year, which would feature a range of high profile and large meetings.
“All this activity underlines why Sydney continues to be Australia’s number one events city as shown by the latest International Congress and Convention Association figures, which rank us in the top 10 cities in the Asia-Pacific region and number 27 in the world – more than 25 places ahead of any other Australian city,” Mr van Amerongen said.
“The 12 months ahead will again demonstrate the enormous appeal of Sydney and the impressive flexibility of this venue, with events ranging from popular consumer exhibitions such as the Australian International Motor Show, to specialist scientific congresses.”
Medical and scientific meetings continue to feature heavily on the Centre’s calendar with the venue due to host 4000 delegates at the Asia Pacific Congress of Ophthalmology in March, 2000 delegates at the Annual World Congress of the Human Proteome Organisation in September, 900 delegates at the 21st International Geophysical Conference and Exhibition in August and 900 delegates at the Australian Society of Microbiology Conference in July.
Other major events include a dinner for 3500 guests for the Golden Oldies Rugby Union Festival in September, 800 delegates at the Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness in July and 800 delegates for the International Congress on Acoustics in August.
Meanwhile, major exhibitions scheduled at the Centre include three of the biggest events in the nation: the Australian International Motor Show which attracts the largest visitor numbers of any public exhibition, the Reed Gift Fairs which features the nation’s largest exhibitor numbers, and the Sydney International Boat Show which occupies more space than any other exhibition at the Centre.
