EDGE Venues

The Renaissance Barcelona Hotel opened on 26th April 2012 in the heart of the city close to many of the historical sites. The hotel offers 211 bedrooms and 7 meeting rooms with almost 500sqm of event space including capacity for up to 140 theatre style. The hotel also boasts a “Roof Top Bar” which can be hired out on a private basis.

What is claimed to be the world’s first sustainable meetings region has been established by five Scandinavian nations. Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have signed an Accord to create an area to advance sustainable development within the meetings and events industry. All are members of ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association. The Accord, the first of its kind in the world, is a document outlining 10 specific actions to which all signatories commit. A major aim is to reduce the Scandinavian meetings industry’s CO2 footprint by 20 per cent by the year 2020. The Accord also includes the use of environmentally friendly transport, giving back to the local community, advocating to clients the use of responsible, sustainable and certified suppliers, sharing knowledge and learning from others.

IHG, the world’s largest hotel company, has launched the first upscale, international hotel brand designed specifically for the Chinese traveller – HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts.  HUALUXE translates from Hua, which means majestic China and luxe, representing luxury.  The HUALUXE brand has been developed in response to three core growth opportunities that IHG is tapping into – consumer demand for an upscale international hotel brand that demonstrates pride in Chinese customs and reflects local tradition; the domestic China opportunity, whereby the number of domestic travellers is expected to reach 3.3 billion in 2015 and the China hotel market is projected to grow by 5-8% annually by 2030 and the international opportunity, where outbound trips from China are projected to grow from 10 million to more than 100 million in the next 10 to 15 years.

On the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Klimt, one of the world’s most renowned artists, Vienna is taking the chance to celebrate one of its most famous sons, and show off the wealth of its cultural heritage. The Belvedere Museum in Vienna continues to hold the world’s largest collection of Klimt artwork.

 

As the son of a goldsmith, Klimt understood metals like few other artists of his generation. Though he worked with paint, he had a unique ability to create the illusion of precious metals, stones and jewels. He trained at the commercially-minded School of Applied Art, not at Vienna’s fine art academy. He is particularly known for his paintings such as The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, and Hope II. His work is so well known that even a Barbie has been modelled on the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer.

easyJet’s base in Lisbon Airport’s Terminal 2 is now operational. From the Portuguese platform, the low-cost airline now connects Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Venice and Asturias to the city of Lisboa, strengthening, with these five new routes, its network between the Portuguese capital and Europe.

 

Emirates Airlines will, for the first time, offer direct flights to the United Arab Emirates. From the 9th of July, Emirates Airlines will run a daily flight between Lisbon and the Middle East.  The new route will establish a bridge between the carrier’s network in the Asian and African continents and the most westerly part of Europe. The flight will depart daily from Dubai at 09:13 and arrive in Lisboa at approximately 14:45. The return leg will depart from Lisbon at 17:55 and arrive in Dubai at 04:35 the following day.

 

US Airways resumes, for the seventh consecutive year, its seasonal flight service between Philadelphia International Airport in the United States and the Portuguese capital.  Operational from the 5th of May to the 27th of October this route between the American continent and Lisbon will facilitate quick connections with the most prominent airports in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Washington, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Phoenix, Toronto and San Juan among others.