Understated Excitement

With its grand array of venues and facilities combined with an enviable track record
for meetings and events, Brisbane is shaking off its small-town reputation.

Find function rooms in Brisbane here>> Brisbane conference venues

Any conference organiser considering the Queensland capital for an event can rest assured that if size matters, Brisbane hasn’t yet seen a challenge it couldn’t meet.

For a city with a population of just 1½ million people, it has consistently grabbed headlines with such crowd-drawing events as the Commonwealth Games in 1982, the 1988 World Expo, the Lions Club International Convention in 1991 and the 2001 Goodwill Games. In 2003, Brisbane attracted almost 17,000 delegates and their families for the 2003 Rotary International Convention, and the Commonwealth Games will again call Brisbane home in 2006.

What makes Brisbane so attractive for conference organisers? Its compact size has something to do with it, as does its subtropical climate and its picturesque natural beauty. Not to mention its accommodation and meetings infrastructure.

CONSIDERABLE CHOICE

Brisbane has more than 12,000 hotel rooms, more than three-quarters of which are within 10 minutes of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The ease with which Brisbane can handle meetings of any size is undoubtedly a factor in why more than 120,000 delegates injected an estimated $170 million into the local economy during the 2002/2003 financial year.

Ready access is another con-tributing factor. Aside from the direct flights from many parts of Australia, Brisbane is serviced by 19 international airlines with 180 international flights a week.

Brisbane domestic and inter-national airport terminals are about 16 kilometres from the city centre. The Airtrain is a quick and painless way to get to the city, taking just 20 minutes with trains departing every 15 minutes.

BUDGET CONSCIOUS

Brisbane also lays claim to being one of the cheapest Australian capital cities in which to do business. According to the Runzheimer International Guide to Daily Travel Prices, per diem costs for Brisbane (3 meals and corporate accommodation) is $US143 compared to $US187 for Sydney.

Brisbane Marketing’s Convention Bureau, the organisation charged with advancing conventions and meetings business in the city, was an inaugural supporter of the ConneQion Queensland (ECQ) event and is committed to supporting it again in 2005.

Based on such popular tradeshows as Sydney on Sale and AIME, ECQ showcased Brisbane’s $165 million convention and meetings industry to local and interstate buyers in April at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre. ECQ will run again at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 5-6, 2005.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of Australia’s great success stories. It has a total of 20 meetings rooms including the Great Hall, which can seat up to 4,000 people in plenary mode, as well as 4 exhibition halls, totalling 20,000 square metres.

The latest BCEC functions option is the South Bank River Room, located in the midst of the South Bank Parklands. The riverside venue enjoys panoramic views of the Brisbane city skyline and is ideally suited for conferences, corporate meetings and special events, holding up to 250 people for banquets or 300 for cocktails.

The Wi-Fi enabled BCEC was ground zero for last year’s 94th Annual Rotary International Convention, just one of the 54 conventions (including 17 international conventions) hosted in 2003. The Centre generates an average of $130 million per year in economic benefits to the local economy.

VENUE SOLUTIONS

Its award-winning food and beverage operations serves more than a million meals annually, from public catering for exhibitions through to silver service banquets for up to 6,000 guests at a time.

The Brisbane Hilton has recently renovated its Executive and Business floor rooms and suites. The 5th floor conference facilities have also received an extensive upgrade. In total, there are 8 meetings rooms including the Grand Ballroom, which seats up to 800 people theatre style. With a sleek new contemporary look, the Ballroom has an enhanced lighting system that can change the ambience of the room at the touch of a button. The spacious new lobby has ample space for pre-function cocktails or trade displays and exhibitions.

In addition, 3 new meetings rooms have been created on Level 8. Ideal for smaller meetings, they feature floor-to-ceiling glass walls along the atrium-side of the rooms, and can be flooded with natural light or dimmed by remote control screens at the touch of a button. 2 rooms each have the ability to seat 40 people theatre style while the third can hold 60 people theatre style.

HERITAGE APPEAL

For something a little different, the Brisbane City Hall offers organisers a unique heritage-listed venue located in the heart of the CBD.

It has 8 flexible meetings and function rooms and the adjacent King George Square can cater for a wide variety of events ranging from small business meetings to large trade shows, exhibitions and gala events.

City Hall’s flexible function packages can be individually tailored to meet the needs of groups from 10 to 1,500 guests. The main auditorium has the capacity to accommodate up to 70 exhibition booths and more than 10,000 visitors a day.

Elsewhere in the city, the Brisbane Powerhouse at inner city New Farm showcases the city’s contemporary live arts and does a lively trade in corporate hire. The Auditoria is a studio-style theatre seating up to 400 people, while the smaller Visy Theatre can accommodate 200 people. A range of smaller rooms and venues are available within the complex while the Moreton Hire Performance Lawn has 7,500 square metres of outdoor space for large marquees and overlooks the Brisbane River.

OUT AND AROUND

Brisbane is ideally suited for outdoor activities. Brisbane has over 400 kilometres of bicycle pathways, many wind through the public parks and along the river banks of the Brisbane CBD. Valet Cycle Hire and Tours operates from the Botanical Gardens and rents out both men’s and women’s Repco mountain bikes. Valet delivers to Brisbane city hotels and provides helmets, locks, lights for night riding, and maps.

Experiencing the city, however, doesn’t necessarily have to be laid-back. A high octane way to do the city is with Brisbane Harley Rides, on the back of a powerful motorbike driven by an authentic biker in club colours with a zippy freeway tour that includes viewing the skyline from the summit of the Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens. Looking for more thrills? Try a flight over the city with Solitair Helicopters.

The opportunities for amazing corporate guests are truly endless in Brisbane.