SHANGHAI: Three years out from opening, Sydney’s much anticipated new International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) is already attracting major events to the State of New South Wales (NSW).
Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) CEO Lyn Lewis-Smtih said the five international events secured for the centre showed strong confidence in the new facilities and supported the Government’s investment in the redevelopment of Darling Harbour.
The new convention facilities opening in late 2016, and the broader precinct including a vibrant innovation hub, will provide a vital platform for the world to connect with the State’s industry leaders, fresh-thinkers and emerging talent.
“Five international events, worth an impressive combined total of almost $34 million, have now been confirmed for ICC Sydney. This comes on top of the 60 expressions of interest from national association events for the new centre,” Ms Lewis-Smith said.
“Four of these events are leading professional services meetings – a great alignment with the Government’s economic development plan that includes a focus on the State’s finance and business services competitive advantages.”
NSW Deputy Premier, Andrew Stoner, reinforced the importance of these events for strengthening Sydney’s standing as Australia’s global city and one of the world’s major financial centres, as well as an Asia Pacific hotspot for world-leading professional services firms.
“Our talent and our companies are among the best in the world. We have some of the world’s leading professional service firms covering industries as varied as business advisory and consultancy, legal services, marketing, public relations, accountancy and human resources.
Companies including Baker and McKenzie, Deloitte, Allens, Thomson Reuters, Clayton Utz, KPMG, Minter Ellison and PricewaterhouseCoopers, to name just a few, are at home in Sydney,” Mr Stoner said.
“An aligned economic development strategy makes sense. These meetings secured for ICC Sydney will attract international delegates to NSW. They will also bring opportunities for trade, investment, knowledge sharing, collaboration and innovation to our business and academic communities. It’s a win win.”
Mr Michael Rose, Chief Executive Partner of Allens and Chair of the Committee for Sydney’s Professional Services Taskforce said, “Ensuring Sydney’s success as a professional and financial services hub for the region is important for NSW and Australia. Attracting major business events and conventions to Sydney is fundamental to building this success and the Committee for Sydney is pleased to see that the city’s new convention centre is already having such a positive impact”.
The International Association of Restructuring Insolvency Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL) World Quadrennial Congress 2017 and the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference 2017 will be the first two major international conferences to take place in ICC Sydney.
Worth almost $18 million to the NSW economy, the IBA Annual Conference 2017 is expected to attract an estimated 4,000 legal professionals to Sydney to debate, collaborate and innovate, while INSOL is expected to bring 800 delegates to the city and inject almost $2 million into the NSW economy.
“The new convention centre has certainly been a key theme of our international discussions. It’s very encouarging to see an increasing number of events signing up to use this exciting new space and I’m sure we are going to see many more clients securing their events for the opening years of ICC Sydney,” Ms Lewis-Smith said.
“ICC Sydney will cement Sydney’s reputation as one of the greatest places in the world to connect, collaborate and do business.
“There is the very real possibility that discoveries and connections made through the diverse events that will be held at ICC Sydney will result in new innovations and advances that will benefit local communities in Australia and across the world. Let’s lead the way!” said Ms Lewis-Smith.
The five international events secured for Sydney’s new convention and exhibition facilities are:
• International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference 2017: 4,000 delegates,
estimated economic impact $17.9 million
• 2017 AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress: 2,000 delegates, estimated economic
impact $7.2 million
• International Association of Restructuring Insolvency Bankruptcy Professionals
(INSOL) World Quadrennial Congress 2017: 800 delegates, estimated economic impact
over $2 million
• Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress: PAQS 2018: 500 delegates,
estimated economic impact $1.5 million.
• 20th International Congress of Cytology in 2019: 1,200 delegates, estimated economic
impact $4.8 million
