Our destination features are always popular, but we don’t pretend to always know absolutely everything about every city. There will always be hidden nuggets that others will know. With that in mind, we reached out to the team at ICC Belfast for their insight into one of Ireland’s most exciting cities.
With historical significance on every corner, unique dining experiences, bustling tourist hotspots and iconic hotels, Belfast provides a truly unique backdrop for event planners to create a world-class experience. Head of Sales and Marketing for ICC Belfast, Marie-Claire McGreevy reveals all…
Sustainable city
Following the 2021 launch of Belfast’s first resilience strategy and climate plan, an ambitious goal ‘to transition to an inclusive, zero emissions economy in a generation.’ has been set comprising 30 transformational programmes to future-proof the city. In partnership with Visit Belfast and Belfast City Council, ICC Belfast has committed to the development of a sustainable tourism plan as one of the resilience strategy transformational programmes.
Visit Belfast have a dedicated sustainability
and impact manager to support and collaborate with event profs on bespoke
initiatives to deliver on specific SDGs. In addition to being ranked 8th
worldwide in the Global Destinations
Sustainability Index, Visit Belfast is tackling food poverty and homelessness in Northern
Ireland through its social impact project, Changing the Menu. For Good., which
received the 2022 GDS-Movement’s Innovation Award.
69%
of all hotel bedrooms in Belfast City Centre are Green tourism accredited. ICC
Belfast, the city’s convention centre has achieved a Silver Green Meetings
Award and was the first venue on the island of Ireland to be awarded this
accreditation.
Sustainable Belfast
Award-winning
The city rivals competitors with aplomb. Further
investment through the Belfast City Region Deal in tourism-led projects such as
Belfast Stories illustrates the growing confidence in NI following the 2016
unveiling of the convention centre’s £29.5M extended facilities.
Securing the top spot for
‘Best Conference Destination’ for 2022 at the highly influential
Conference & Incentive Travel (C&IT) Awards in London for a second year
in a row, Belfast sidestepped the global competition yet again as an ambitious
destination that continues to exceed industry expectations.
Northern Ireland’s
premier conference venue, ICC Belfast, was also shortlisted as the UK’s ‘Best
Venue’ for events for 2022 for a fifth consecutive year, confirming a leading
industry reputation for high calibre staff, cutting-edge innovation and a
driving focus on sustainability. ICC Belfast has also held prestigious titles
such as the Conference and Event Awards Best Large-Scale Event Venue and Event
Technology Awards’ Most Innovative and Tech-Friendly Venue.
Accreditations and affiliations
Compact without compromise
Belfast is a compact city
meaning it is often possible to walk between hotels and venues or key
attractions. However, for guests who travel slightly further, there are over 70
hydrogen buses and gliders servicing public transport routes across Belfast and
the national transport provider has set an ambitious target to reach Net Zero
in 2030.
The city has also
introduced various accessibility enhancements across to support increased
participation, and deliver on its promise of being a destination that
celebrates diversity and champions inclusivity.
In partnership with The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement and the Department for Communities as lead sponsor, Belfast welcomed delegates to positively reframe the narrative on approaching, supporting and enabling persons with disabilities to achieve their career goals when it hosted the Harkin Summit in June 2022.
Transformational change
To ensure a successful set up and event, Belfast
underwent leading transformational change before, during and post Summit to be
an accessible diverse and inclusive host destination. This included over 80% of
ICC Belfast staff and 100% of Visit Belfast visitor servicing staff completing JAM Card training which allows customers to communicate
their accessibility needs discreetly, highlighting that they may need a little
extra time and patience during their visit.
To allow maximum space and comfort for
delegates, a permanent Changing Place was also installed by SYNC Living in the Riverside Foyer area of ICC Belfast, which includes a
peninsular toilet, grab rails and a changing bench for visitors requiring
additional support.
Over 260 hospitality and tourism professionals
in Belfast are now trained in inclusion. The training video, curated by Visit
Belfast and NOW Group, was developed specifically for the Harkin Summit and
will be rolled out across the city’s tourism and hospitality sector to improve
inclusion across the wider industry.
A further legacy initiative of Harkin Belfast was the development of a Social Narrative Access Video to support delegates in navigating their surroundings at ICC Belfast. The video, which covers arrival and complete access to the venue was produced by disabled-led arts charity, University of Atypical.
Harkin Belfast legacy
Under the Northern Ireland Communities Minister,
Deirdre Hargey’s direction, the Harkin Belfast legacy initiatives also include
300 ring-fenced employment opportunities for young disabled people, 100
mentoring sessions delivered during the Summit, an eight-week Entrepreneurship
Course for young people with disabilities in collaboration with the British
Council and a Dragons’ Den for disability led enterprises sponsored by Ulster
Bank.
Belfast City Council, as part of the new Belfast
tourism strategy, will also be rolling out an accessible tourism programme to
build capacity and skills within the tourism sector.
The City of Belfast will continue to utilise the
Harkin Summit to learn from global best practice, as a catalyst for further
progress and to inform future policy work and initiatives in this area.
Harkin Belfast case study
Sectoral excellence
Northern Ireland is a
powerhouse of innovation and talent. World-leading in cyber security, advanced
manufacturing, fintech, life and health sciences and creative industries;
Belfast is now ranked in the top 100 international meeting destinations globally.
(International Congress and Conventions Association 2023).
The region’s compact size is its strength – home to a dynamic eco-system of SMEs, start-ups and 1,200 global corporations who all come together to welcome business events and meetings to Northern Ireland.
Cyber Security Hub
Belfast is fast becoming a global cyber security hub making ICC Belfast the obvious host venue choice for the
National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) flagship conference, CYBERUK.
In April 2023, Northern Ireland celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the
Belfast Good Friday Agreement. Events marking this historic event across the
region highlighted how the foundations of the Peace Process accelerated the
prosperous Northern Ireland economy and opened up opportunities for hosting
global events like CYBERUK. Belfast’s remarkable business transformation is a
testament to the promises made by British, Irish and International Leaders when
they signed the agreement in 1998. The city is now considered a centre of
excellence for cyber security with prime investment from US firms alongside
world-class research at Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University.
David Crozier, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement at the
Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast
spoke recently about how Belfast is playing a pivotal part in the UK’s cyber
journey:
“In 2009 when Belfast set out to incubate and grow a world-leading cyber
security ecosystem, few people took it seriously. In that time, CSIT led the foundation
of a research-led cyber security community that has brought on partners from
government, industry, entrepreneurship, and the venture capital community to
create a vibrant ecosystem that is driving societal and economic impact
regionally, nationally, and internationally.”
David
Crozier thought leadership
Hybrid hero
With large-scale hybrid
conferences now the norm, ICC Belfast is well established as a market leader
with a reputation for innovation thanks to Tourism Northern Ireland’s
Experience Development Programme.
Following a successful
application, ICC Belfast’s technical infrastructure has expanded significantly,
and the convention centre is now fully hybrid by design. Technological
enhancements made include 4K PTZ BirdDog P400 cameras in every meeting space as
well as a suite of encoders and decoders to allow connectivity between video
sources and NDI installation across the venue controlled by a central ‘gallery
control’ allowing full vision mixing and streaming of spaces.
The interactivity of
conferences has increased exponentially too, with remote and in-person
delegates using a hybrid delegate platform to influence discussions and content
themes through live Q & A sessions, polls and gamification.
Hybrid events
A Giant welcome
From sea to sky Northern
Ireland offers something special. Exceptional giant coastlines meet sublime
mountains with eight Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty on its doorstep.
Belfast City Centre
offers plenty to see and do from the iconic Titanic Belfast to lush Botanical
Gardens and history on every corner.
From Michelin Star
restaurants to St. George’s Market and artisan cafes, Belfast’s food scene has
something to delight even the most discerning palate.
Beyond the city visitors
can embrace Northern Ireland’s Giant Spirit too by taking a drive along the
Causeway Coastal Route. Or, if you’re a fan of the hit TV show why not become
an honorary Derry Girl and visit all the main filming locations?
Attractions
For more on Belfast and other venues available for meetings and events, check out our Belfast profile.
