ACC Liverpool is set to generate almost £8m for the city with the announcement of a series of conferences about stroke.
The UK Stroke Forum will head to the venue, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Each conference is expected to attract up to 1600 delegates and to generate around £2.64m for the city economy.
This may be increased further if UK Stroke Forum is successful in hosting the World Stroke Congress, due to be held in 2016, which it is currently bidding for with Liverpool as its preferred destination. ACC Liverpool and Liverpool Convention Bureau are supporting the bid which will be decided next year and which would see up to 3,000 international delegates generating £6.6m for the local economy.
UK Stroke Forum brings together healthcare professionals from a coalition of 32 organisations with the aim of improving stroke care in the UK. The annual conference is the largest multidisciplinary stroke conference in the UK.
Organisers chose ACC Liverpool for a number of reasons, including the venue’s scope for growth with its new exhibition centre, due for completion in 2014.
Verity Baker, project manager at The Stroke Association, said: “There were many positive factors that led to us choosing Liverpool as the destination to hold UK Stroke Forum for three consecutive years from 2015. In particular we were impressed with the city’s connectivity to major UK cities and its scope for international travel.
“The exhibition space at ACC Liverpool is flexible, versatile and most importantly there is room for growth with the construction of Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
“We look forward to bringing our delegates to such an attractive venue in an historic UNESCO World Heritage Site which, thanks to its proximity to many leisure attractions and hotels, provides an appealing package for attendees.”
The news comes as the Stroke Association, organisers of UK Stroke Forum, holds National Stroke Awareness Month throughout May.
This year will see the seventh UK Stroke Forum take place at Harrogate International Centre, it has also previously been held at the SECC Glasgow.
Kerrin MacPhie, director of sales at ACC Liverpool, said: “We are pleased to welcome The Stroke Association for its annual three-day UK Stroke Forum.
“We received extremely positive feedback from the client about our destination, venue and in particular plans for the new exhibition centre which will allow the forum to expand in the future.
“Whilst we are thrilled to be hosting UK Stroke Forum, we are working hard towards securing the World Stroke Congress which would mean even more of an economic boost to the Liverpool city region.”
Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision which is supporting the bid for World Congress, said: “Liverpool’s universities and hospitals are amongst the best in the world with leading research in a wide range of medical fields.
“Stroke services in Liverpool are amongst the best in the North West for access to stroke clinics and admission to dedicated stroke units. We have one of the few trusts in England to have a comprehensive Early Supported Discharge patient pathway, which has been created with the forward thinking support of Liverpool Primary Care Trust, working in partnership with Liverpool City Council, Local Solutions and the Stroke Association.
“The city’s passion, ambition and innovation are attributes that delegates value and we look forward to welcoming them to our city in 2015 and beyond.”
