Liberal Democrats head to ACC Liverpool for Party Conference

21 Sep 10

ACC Liverpool Chairman David McDonnell  and Chief Executive Bob Prattey officially welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister to Liverpool as more than 5,000 delegates, the majority of whom are staying in the city for the duration of the conference, and 1,600 global media staff are set to descend on the city this week, for its first ever major party political conference.

McDonnell and Prattey formally greeted Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Monday as Mr Clegg arrived for the most eagerly awaited political conference the venue has ever staged.

The Liberal Democrats’ main autumn conference is taking place at ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena on the city’s Kings Waterfront, running until Wednesday.

The conference is arguably the party’s most important for a decade, with a speech from business secretary Vince Cable and a chance to question Liberal Democrat Cabinet Ministers scheduled to close the conference on Wednesday.

Mr Clegg gave the leader’s speech on Monday.

The event has attracted unprecedented media attention to Liverpool, with some 1,600 local, national and international press and media attending. A live edition of the Andrew Marr Show has been broadcasted and there has been major coverage from BBC Breakfast News, the Daily Politics Show, Newsnight, ITV and the hundreds of foreign correspondents attending from the world’s major TV and radio networks and newspapers.

There are also over 80 exhibitors at the event, including EON, Royal Mail and Lloyds Banking Group.

Some 206 fringe meetings are being hosted at ACC Liverpool and an estimated 200 additional fringe meetings are taking place across the city.

The events, operations, security and catering teams at ACC Liverpool have been working with the Liberal Democrats for months in preparation for the conference.

Merseyside Police, Liverpool City Council, The Mersey Partnership, Liverpool Convention Bureau and other stakeholders across the city have also been involved in the planning.

Mr Prattey said: “We’re absolutely delighted to host the Liberal Democrat party conference here in Liverpool. Hosting such a high profile event helps to maintain our national and international profile following the many events over the last two years which have attracted international attention to the city.

“ACC Liverpool is ideally located for high-security events of this nature, being effectively surrounded by water on three sides. It is a fantastic opportunity for Liverpool to sell and tell the story of its ongoing renaissance to a global audience, firmly putting the city on the map as a business, leisure, tourism and investment destination.”

Mr McDonnell commented: "The decision of the Lib Dems to come to Liverpool is proof, were it required, that ACC Liverpool has come of age as a venue of international standing and that Liverpool as a city can compete with any city in the UK to stage events of this stature. I'd like to thank all of our partners, in both the public and private sectors, for helping to make it happen."