The ACC Liverpool Group is celebrating 15 years of running live events.
The organisation, operator of Exhibition Centre Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena and ACC Liverpool, has welcomed 8.3 million visitors and generated £2.1bn in economic impact for the city region since it opened its doors.
Exhibition Centre Liverpool extended the campus and opened in 2015, hosting a variety of consumer and trade exhibitions such as the International Festival for Business, SIBA BeerX UK and live events such as Comic Con Liverpool and Liverpool Indoor Funfair.
The arena, which recently hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, has welcomed more than 3,000 entertainment events including the MTV Europe Music Awards; artists such as Sir Paul McCartney and Beyonce and international sporting events such as the Davis Cup; BBC Sports Personality of the Year; Vitality Netball World Cup and World Gymnastics Championships.
Meanwhile, the campus has hosted a multitude of conferences including the Labour Party Conference which has taken place four times and will return in October. Global conferences over the past 15 years include BBC Studios Showcase, the European Association for International Education and the Union World Conference on Lung Health.
Upcoming events on the campus include Nursing Live, the UK Drum Show, World Baton Twirling, the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress and shows by Ricky Gervais and Olly Murs.
Faye Dyer, chief executive of The ACC Liverpool Group, said: “There have been so many milestones in our journey – from hosting the Capital of Culture opening ceremony in 2008 to the first conference in the UK during the pandemic as part of the government’s Event Research Programme. And, most recently, Eurovision which felt even more significant to be hosting it in our fifteenth year.”
Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “The past 15 years has been a story of non-stop success and I’d like to thank everyone who works at The ACC Liverpool Group and its service partners for all the hours and extra effort they put in to help provide such a fantastic welcome that Liverpool is so famous for. Here’s to the next 15 years. If it’s half as memorable as what we’ve been fortunate to enjoy, Liverpool has a lot to look forward to.”
