13 Conference & Exhibition Centre

Where The Old Meets The New

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Here it is. A place where state-of-the-art conference spaces merge seamlessly with the magnificent architecture of the historic Winter Gardens. A place where delegates can enjoy the unique surroundings of a contemporary, purpose-built facility alongside the sheer splendour of rooms such as the Floral Hall, the Empress Ballroom, Opera House, and the Spanish Hall. With a dozen di erent venues under one roof, it o ers the ultimate flexibility, catering for intimate events through to large exhibitions, gala dinners, symposiums, and conferences with a combined capacity of up to 7,000 delegates.

Centre Stage 2

Blackpool’s stunning new Conference & Exhibition Centre is open for business.

As the photographs here and over the next few pages clearly show, this purpose-built venue o ers a completely di erent experience for event organisers and delegates.

The £30m development has been expertly designed so that it seamlessly integrates with the historic Winter Gardens complex, creating one of the largest venues of its kind in the north of England.

Take a careful look and you will see the original brickwork of the legendary Empress Ballroom alongside the polished surfaces of the elegant new conference and exhibition halls.

Built on the site of a former car park, the scheme was facilitated by £18m of funding from the Government’s Growth Deal, which is managed by the Lancashire Economic Partnership, almost £3m from the Coastal Communities Fund and the remainder from Blackpool Council and the Blackpool Entertainment Company Ltd (BECL).

It is the first major building development at the historic Winter Gardens complex since the construction of the Opera House in 1939 and represents a masterclass in bringing together the old and the new.

With an impressive 2,400sq metres of dedicated space set over two magnificent floors and equipped with cutting-edge audio and visual technology, the new build adds a unique contemporary twist to the Winter Gardens site providing total flexibility for large and small-scale events.

Together, it creates a hub of 12 distinct venues o ering almost five acres of connected conference, meeting, event, and exhibition space.

With the original Winter Gardens buildings also enjoying a multimillion pound upgrade with a new air-conditioning system, improved digital connectivity and extensive refurbishments to restore it to its original splendour, there has never been a better time to take a fresh look at all that Blackpool has to o er.

Meet The Team 3

Our expert team have many years of combined knowledge and experience in the conference and events industry, and hospitality sector. With a new, state-ofthe-art Conference & Exhibition Centre sitting alongside the beautiful spaces in the historic Winter Gardens, their goal is to grow and promote Blackpool’s business tourism o ering to put it back on the map as a mainstream conference destination. They are passionate about building strong working relationships and creating the best possible customer experience.

Julie Vincent Conference and Events Sales Manager Julievincent@wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

Rebecca Thompson Special Events Sales Manager rebeccathompson@wintergardensblackpool.co.uk Carla Hunte Events Co-ordinator CarlaHunte@wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

Anthony Williams Sales and Marketing Manager anthonywilliams@wintergardensblackpool.co.uk

Making History

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The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, officially opened the new Conference & Exhibition Centre on March 19, 2022, on the second and final day of the Conservative Party Spring Conference. He unveiled a plaque which is now sited in the foyer area. It was the first time that the Conservative Party had held a conference in Blackpool since 2007 and marked a welcome return of major party political conferences to the resort, which has hosted numerous Prime Ministers down the years.