More significantly, the investment in the ICC by Excel and our owners ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company), has delivered $7.2 billion in economic impact to London during that time. The findings are the result of an independent study by Grant Thornton and do not include the role the venue played during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As James Rees, Executive Director, Excel London explains: “Opening the ICC at Excel was the right decision not only for us but for London. In 2008, with the endorsement of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, we committed to build and open London’s first truly International Convention Center. At the time London was 19th in the ICCA rankings but we strongly recognised the economic benefit that hosting more ICCA-rated events and large scale corporate conventions would bring to the Capital. With the support of our owners ADNEC the new $238 million ICC was opened in May 2010 and allowed London to bid for and host major international congresses and events for the first time.”
Rees continues: “Five years on, with London now sitting at 6th in the ICCA rankings, we are able to provide organisers with the assurance that by choosing London they will be working with a city which understands their business and can help them to deliver record-breaking, profitable events. The upside of hosting large conventions is the positive effect for London as a whole with smaller events being hosted in hotels, universities and other boutique venues around the city.”
2015 was Excel’s busiest ever year for conferences and events, including the European Society of Cardiology, HPE Discover, Microsoft Future Decoded, EuroPerio8, Salesforce1 World Tour London, ERA-EDTA 2015 (European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplantation Association), Adobe Summit, IEEE International Conference on Communications and LinkedIn Talent Connect.
ICC London in numbers:
