Ireland came to London last week for the press launch of The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD), which opens on the 1st September 2010 in the Spencer Dock overlooking the River Liffey, the city itself, and the Wicklow mountains.

Set in the heart of Dublin, the centre has been designed by Pritzker award-winning architect, Kevin Roche, with the objective of becoming the best fit-for-purpose convention centre in Europe capable of attracting small, medium and large national and international conventions to what is undoubtedly one of the world`s most vibrant and favourite destinations.

The building spans eight floors including two floors of underground car parking, the Auditorium seats up to 2,000 delegates, The Forum for over 3,000 delegates or exhibition of 2,755 sqm, The Liffey Suite for just under 2,000, with four more halls for up to 500, 11 meeting rooms for up to 185, and four Board rooms for up to 40. The CCD can also accommodate banquets of up to 2,000 guests

Environmentally conscious
As a public-private partnership financed by Depfa, Allied Irish and Barclays, particular attention has been paid to meeting the highest standards of environmental sustainability (such as concrete with a zero carbon footprint) so as to meet the exacting standards that will inevitably spin out of CSR policies in relation to conforming with the BS8901 standard once it has been finalised.

The venue will be managed under contract by the team from The ICC, which is part of the revitalised NEC Group in Birmingham and is another feather in the cap of both Paul Thandi and Nick Waight, who joined in 1989 and from 1999 has been spearheading the Group`s successful tender to manage the venue for its first 25 years. Waight assumes the role of chief executive, and teams up with Catherine Newhall-Caiger from The ICC who in turn becomes director of international sales.

A taste of the Emerald Isles
The presentation centred on the destination, the culture, and the craic that is Dublin, with Bono contributing to the soundtrack of a four-minute video compilation which completed the pitch. The corporate planners, associations and assembled press were treated to a taste of what incentive travel and a meeting in Dublin really means - from racing at the Curragh, to golf at Portmarnock, to the historic culture and architecture of the city itself accompanied by a pint of the black stuff.

Dublin has, let’s face it, everything it takes to deliver a cracking meeting or conference. It won’t be cheap, but it will deliver value according to both the management and Tourism Ireland who co-hosted the launch.

The British Orthopaedic Association opened the order book even before the venue was launched in Dublin two weeks ago with their annual 1,000-delegate conference, and there’s no doubt that Dublin is set to attract substantial additional tourism from both the new venue and the additional terminal at Dublin airport, just 20 minutes away, which opens in 2009.

For more information on The Convention Centre Dublin click here