Since first opening its doors as a brand-new convention centre in September 2019, ICC Wales has finally been able to celebrate a full twelve months’ worth of trading.
Following its spectacular launch, ICC Wales was only able to open for six months before the pandemic hit, meaning the venue had to close its doors for 18 months. After reopening last autumn to stage a number of high-profile events including International Golf Travel Market, Blas Cymru/Taste Wales and the Independent Schools Bursars’ Association annual conference, operations were again halted when renewed restrictions hit Wales in December 2021.
Another two months of trading since its latest relaunch in February 2022 allowed ICC Wales to finally clock up the first-year milestone. The state-of-the-art South Wales conference centre has been making up for lost time during a busy period of activity. In the eight weeks following the lifting of restrictions on business events in Wales more than 42,500 people have passed through the doors.
Notable events which have taken place so far this year at the 5,000-capacity venue include the 2022 BetVictor Welsh Open Snooker, Western Gateway Conference, 22 graduation ceremonies for the University of South Wales, the Body Shop Awards, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, The Wales Asian Wedding Fayre and the City of Newport Symphony Orchestra.
Danielle Bounds, Sales Director, ICC Wales said: “As a new venue, we haven’t had the easiest of starts, but it’s with great pride that we can now say that we have finally been able to celebrate a full twelve months of operating. We have a fantastic facility here, and it’s wonderful to see it once more being filled with people and buzzing with activity during our busiest ever period since opening in 2019.”
Danielle continues: “Since the pandemic, many people are opting to take an indoors / outdoors approach to events, and with the huge amount of space we have here, both inside and out, as well as our flexible meeting rooms and breakout areas, we can design the space around our clients and their evolving needs and requirements.”
ICC Wales can accommodate more than 5,000 delegates and includes a 4,000sqm pillar-free main hall, a 1,500-seated auditorium, 15 flexible meeting rooms, a double-height glass atrium with views of the surrounding ancient Coldra Woods and a 2,500sqm outdoor plaza.
