Supplier Profile ICC Wales

Paul Williams, ICC Wales’ PR Manager, sheds light on Wales’ state of the art events hub

What is the ICC Wales?

International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) is the UK’s newest and most exciting events venue. Opened in 2019, world-class facilities include a 4,000 sq m pillar-free exhibition hall, a 1,500-seat auditorium, versatile meeting rooms and an abundance of breakout and networking spaces, flooded in natural daylight.

Built in an £84m joint venture project between the Celtic Collection and Welsh Government, the venue is highly accessible just a stone’s throw from Junction 24 of the M4, yet it is situated in ancient woodland with floor to ceiling meeting room windows and outdoor breathing space making the most of the stunning environment.

Where did the idea come from and what are your aims/ambitions?

ICC Wales is the first large-scale convention centre in Wales, and a venue which establishes the country as a major destination for business events.

The Celtic Manor Resort has a long-established reputation for holding major conferences, including the 2014 NATO Summit, but found it was being forced to turn away some event business because its capacity of 1,500 was not large enough for the biggest events. Plans for a new convention centre with a capacity for 5,000 delegates on the resort site crystalised into the joint venture with Welsh Government to build ICC Wales. Bringing more than £70m per annum into the South Wales visitor economy, ICC Wales is a gamechanging venue which puts Wales firmly on the map as a place to host international business events.

What kind of events do you host and how small can you go, and how big?

ICC Wales can host a huge variety of events from corporate and association conferences and exhibitions to consumer shows, graduation ceremonies, music concerts, theatre shows, weddings and sporting events. Due to the impact of Covid, 2022 was the first full year of trading for ICC Wales but events already held at the venue include the UK Space Conference for more than 2,000 delegates, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Conference for more than 3,000 delegates, and Comic Con Wales which attracted in excess of 10,000 attendees over three days.

The main exhibition hall and larger meeting rooms are all divisible into smaller sections, meaning the centre can cater for all size of events while a number of boardrooms can host meetings for just a handful of people.

What sets the ICC Wales apart from other conference venues?

ICC Wales occupies a unique location with a bridge leading directly from the back of the building into the adjacent ancient woodland where delegates can enjoy outdoor breakout sessions and walking trails. The wellbeing benefits of the setting are also seen from meeting room windows looking out on the stunning natural environment, yet ICC Wales is within moments of Newport city centre and the M4 motorway, making it highly accessible by road and rail.

As a new venue, state of the art AV and sustainability features were built into the design and ICC Wales is at the cutting edge of the event experience. Construction only commenced following extensive focus group research with clients and other industry experts to ensure the end result matched their recommendations for creating the very best convention centre.

When and how did you get involved in food and drink events? What events do you host in the food and drink arena?

Food and drink is a growing sector both within Wales and globally so there are an increasing number of important industry events.

Food and drink are also an important part of the ICC Wales philosophy where we seek to champion the fantastic array of local produce available in Wales while keeping delegates energised with a catering provision that nourishes the mind, body and soul.

Having previously held Welsh Government’s Blas Cymru/Taste Wales event at the Celtic Manor Resort, ICC Wales was delighted to stage this event in 2021 and will be welcoming it back once more in 2023. We were also delighted to host the World Cheese Awards in 2022.

How did you get involved with CAW and the bid for the Worldchefs Congress and what does it mean for you?

Our relationship with CAW dates back many years with Celtic Collection and ICC Wales chefs competing for the Welsh culinary team at international championships over a long period, as well as cooking for the St David’s Day reception at 10 Downing Street. Group Culinary Director Peter Fuchs is a former Welsh culinary team manager and Executive Head Chef Michael Bates serves on the committee.

So we were really excited when CAW suggested we partner to bid for the Worldchefs Congress & Expo and we are thrilled to have won the bid to host this prestigious event in 2026. We cannot wait to welcome many of the world’s finest chefs to Wales and showcase everything that Welsh food and drink has to offer.