International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) commemorates five years of operation in December, having contributed to AUD$2.53bn of visitor expenditure and a host of community benefits by consistently delivering successful events. With 250 events already secured for the first half of 2022 and events in the pipeline through to 2031, ICC Sydney expects a return to delivering $1bn annually to the New South Wales (NSW) community within the next five years, despite the challenges from the Covid pandemic. Following a $3.4bn redevelopment of the convention, exhibition, entertainment centre and its precinct by the NSW Government through a Public Private Partnership, ICC Sydney CEO, Geoff Donaghy said the past five years have seen the team’s agility, innovation and resilience come to the fore. “After launching the venue in December 2016, the team has delivered 2,700 conventions, exhibitions, banquets, seminars and entertainment events and welcomed 4.5m attendees through our doors. “Agility, innovation and a focus on world class service has resulted in success for our customers and our community even under the most challenging of conditions,” Donaghy said. NSW premier, The Hon. Dominic Perrottet congratulated ICC Sydney on maintaining its position as a jewel in the crown of the State’s infrastructure investments, saying: “ICC Sydney attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors through its doors every year, adding vibrancy to our city and acting as a catalyst for economic investment in innovation and through its long supply chain reaching out to the state’s regions.” Key highlights during the venue’s five years in operation include:
- Legacy programme to connect event organisers with Aboriginal owned businesses, emerging artists and entrepreneurs, students and sustainable event solutions launched in 2017.
- Delivering over $40m alone, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)’s flagship event SIBOS (SWIFT International Banking Operations Seminar) attracted 7,500 business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs from 150 countries to Sydney in 2018.
- The bi-annual PACIFIC International Maritime Exposition was held twice at the Centre with more than 21,000 attendees attending the 2019 exhibition from 35 countries.
- Celebrity speakers and performers including Hilary Clinton, Simon Sinek, Seinfeld, Cher and Elton John have walked the floorboards of ICC Sydney theatres.
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in business has transacted on the show floors at around 224 exhibitions in the Exhibition Centre.
- Supporting charities through the pandemic, youth wellbeing charity Stand Tall, held every year at Aware Super Theatre since 2017 was broadcast for the first time in 2020 and attracted 6,000 students in person plus 100,000 remote attendees in 2021.
