The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre (BCEC), owned and operated by Cairn Group, will soft launch today (3 October 2016) ahead of its official opening event on 3rd November.
The venue has experienced a strong level of interest ahead of launch, with clients already booked including National Express, the Irish Guards Old Comrades Association and the National Osteoporosis Society.
Located on the doorstep of Birmingham New Street station, the multimillion pound BCEC is the newest major venue to open in the UK with over 2000sqm of dedicated conference and events space. Situated over two floors, the BCEC comprises 20 fully-flexible meeting rooms accommodating up to 1,450 delegates and six banqueting suites including its largest, The Mercian.
The Mercian, at 1,048 sqm with a ceiling height of 3.5m, is The BCEC’s principal events suite dominating the entire second floor. The Mercian offers extensive pre-function space with a private Champagne bar along with two further bars inside the main banqueting hall. The suite also boasts a stage, spring-loaded dancefloor and a heavy-goods access lift and can accommodate up to 1000 delegates theatre style and 750 for a private dinner, providing some of the largest new dedicated conference and events space in the city centre.
The BCEC has been designed in response to the growing demand for small and large-scale meetings space in the centre of Birmingham, with a considered mix of executive boardrooms, modern seminar and training rooms and premium function suites, all with an upscale feel.
In order to cater for a diverse range of client needs, each suite features high-end equipment including one-touch wireless technology to control heating, lighting and audio-visual connectivity as well as 55” or 65” smart TVs and free hi-speed Wi-Fi.
Vincent Garrington, General Manager of the BCEC, comments, “On behalf of everyone involved with bringing this fantastic new venue to life, I am thrilled to open the doors today for our soft launch. With some of the largest new dedicated events space in the city, the response to The BCEC from the market has been overwhelming. We have an incredible team of event professionals here at The BCEC and with them I am looking forward to welcoming our first delegates today and establishing long-term partnerships within the industry.”
Situated just a minutes’ walk from the John Lewis Southside exit of Birmingham New Street mainline station, The BCEC is one of the best connected venues in the Midlands and just 1 hour 30 minutes from London.
Owned and managed by Cairn Group, the BCEC is linked via covered glass walkway to the company’s adjacent Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre. The dedicated venue has agreements with the Holiday Inn and several other hotels in the city to provide delegates with access to over 2,000 guestrooms.