ACC Liverpool Celebrates 2nd Birthday

6 Jan 10

ACC Liverpool has hosted 670 events, contributing £400m to the local economy and bringing nearly 1.5m people to the city, since its opening in January 2008.

In 2009 alone, the waterfront venue welcomed 652,316 people through its doors.

A number of high profile events have taken place at the BT Convention Centre this year including Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet meeting of the year, the TUC Annual Congress and the NHS Confederation conference.

Highlights of the 2009 Echo Arena programme included performances from musical legends such as Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, as well as a number of current chart acts including Muse, Kasabian, Pink and Girls Aloud.

July was the most musical month with 18 gigs, including Leonard Cohen, Jools Holland and the Pet Shop Boys.

Bob Prattey, Chief Executive of ACC Liverpool, said: "2008 was an incredible opening year and in 2009 we have raised the bar even higher.

"It was important that we built upon the momentum gained from the city hosting the Capital of Culture and we've worked hard to provide a range of quality conference events and to bring new performers to the city.

"Our aim is to make sure that Liverpool is the best host city for any event or concert and that people come back in the future. The whole of Merseyside benefits from these visitors. Hoteliers, restaurateurs and other tourist hotspots will have all received an extra boost and it's important that we market Liverpool as a destination and work with other businesses around us."

Highlights of 2010's programme, announced so far, include tours from Nickleback, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis and Lady Gaga, alongside events such as the National Union of Teachers conference, CONFEX, a repeat visit for the NHS Confederation and the Liberal Democrat Party conference.

Arena general manager Tim Banfield added: "We've been astonished at the extent to which local people have taken the venue to their hearts but we're really pleased that we're attracting concert-goers from across the entire region."

Jacquie Rogers, general manager of the BT Convention Centre, said: "The convention centre is now a firm fixture on the international conference circuit and is delivering huge benefits to Liverpool by bringing people here from across the UK who may never have visited the city before, effectively enabling us to showcase the new Liverpool to hundreds of thousands of people.

"The long-term benefits of this are incalcuable"