New ICC Belfast expected to attract £100m and 1,500 jobs to the city

Thursday 11 October marked the official launch of the ICC (international convention centre) Belfast, which has rebranded from Belfast Waterfront. The rebranding aims to attract the international conference market to Belfast, which is projected to be worth £100m in economic impact. Catherine Toolan, managing director of ICC Belfast (pictured left), said: “The repositioning, which has been delivered in conjunction with our partners Visit Belfast, Tourism NI and Belfast City Council, is a crucial step on the journey to realising the full potential of this fantastic venue. “We have the facilities, infrastructure, team and city-wide support to deliver major international conferences in Belfast. “By attracting the international conference market, we aim to deliver 50,000 conference delegate days each year by 2021 across the city. This will generate £100 million in economic impact for Belfast and contribute to the creation of 1,500 jobs.” The ICC Belfast venue is 7,000sqm in size, and was the subject of a £29.5m extension in 2016. Chairman of the board of directors, Ellvena Graham (pictured right) stated: “We are focused on delivering ICC Belfast as a major venue for national and international conferences on the global stage. The feedback we have already received is hugely positive. Everyone recognises that business tourism is critical to the economic prosperity of Belfast and Northern Ireland.”