ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, is to host 2012’s prestigious BBC Showcase UK.
BBC Showcase, BBC Worldwide’s annual television programme export event, is a noted fixture in the television buying calendar and generates up to £50million of programme exports each year. The 4-day event will bring together over 500 of the world’s biggest network buyers and give them an opportunity to purchase the latest BBC Worldwide content.
The move to ACC Liverpool follows a detailed bidding process, initiated in response to pressure in recent years for BBC Showcase to grow in size. The event is now in its 35th year and has been held in Brighton for much of this time. The selection of ACC Liverpool as the events’ new home was focused around the versatility and scale of the venue as well as the experience of the events team and the strength of the destination offer for delegates.
BBC Worldwide will build upon the hi-end technical infrastructure on offer at ACC Liverpool, by creating a unique event environment, which will give delegates individual digitised viewing booths enabling them to view over 1000 hours of new content. The day and night schedules are also packed with producer pitches, co -production forums, screenings and stylish launch parties.
During the showcase many on and off screen talent attend to help pitch to international buyers. Famous faces at past BBC Showcases have included Sir David Attenborough, Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy, Timothy Spall, Buzz Aldrin, Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Martin Freeman, Louis Theroux, Matt Smith, Michael Palin, Judy Parfitt, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Michael Aspel, Richard Armitage Keeley Hawes, Katy Brand, Philip Glenister, Sharon Small, Orla Brady and Mark Gatiss.
Bob Prattey, CEO, ACC Liverpool said, “We are delighted to have been chosen as the new home of BBC Showcase UK and are proud to be hosting this prestigious media event in 2012 and beyond. This is a very high profile date in the television industry calendar and will give us a great opportunity to showcase our world class venue and unique city on an international stage. We are looking forward to working closely with the team at BBC Worldwide in the coming months and years, to further develop this fantastic event here in Liverpool.
“Both 2011 and 2012 are proving to be very buoyant for ACC Liverpool, as we see an increasing number of prominent corporate organisations looking to ACC Liverpool to host their events and we are proud to be able to add BBC Worldwide to that list”.
Announcing the move, BBC Worldwide Sales & Distribution MD, Steve Macallister, said, “The move to ACC Liverpool responds to a real step change in our business. Our distribution activity has expanded significantly in recent years, for example into new areas such as digital. BBC Showcase needs to evolve and grow alongside this, and ACC Liverpool opens up exciting new possibilities for this next stage of its life.”
