Building on Brisbane’s strengths reaps benefits
27 Sep 2011

Brisbane has secured a series of influential international conferences that will bring 6,000 leading medical, science and allied health experts from around the world to Queensland.

The conferences, which were won against fierce international competition from some heavyweight contenders including Canada, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong, are worth an estimated $18 million to the Queensland economy.

This announcement follows news that Brisbane beat Sydney to secure a major international water congress – the 2016 International Water Association World Water Congress and Exhibition - that is set to attract around 3,000 visitors and deliver an economic boost of around $11 million to the city.

Events Queensland in partnership with Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) and Brisbane Marketing all played key roles in successfully securing these events for Brisbane.

With a strategic focus on the business events sector, Events Queensland provided tangible support for the bidding of these events which was led by the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre with destination support from Brisbane Marketing.

The newly confirmed conferences involve Queensland’s key sector strengths, important to its strategic growth and investment, including the medical and allied health professions, creative industries, climate and marine environment.

They are:

• Sigma Theta Tau International Research Conference 2012 (700 delegates)
• World Conference on Design and Health 2013 (600 – 800 delegates)
• Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) 2013 (1,500 delegates)
• Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescence Diabetes
• 2015 ( ISPAD) (800 – 1,000 delegates)
• International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC) 2016 (1,500 – 2,000 delegates)

The benefits of hosting these influential and prestigious international conferences are far reaching and bring to the attention of the world Brisbane’s industry strengths as well as encouraging collaboration between some of the world’s leading thinkers, experts and innovators.

Dr. Andrew Cotterill, Director of Endocrinology at the Mater Children’s Hospital was instrumental in helping to secure the Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescence Diabetes for Brisbane in 2015.

“The ISPAD Conference 2015 to be held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre is timed to bring many International experts in the care of diabetes to Brisbane and to showcase the new Queensland Children's Hospital and the Paediatric Endocrine Team to our International colleagues.

“As well as allowing links to be made with near South-East Asian colleagues and key researchers from across the world, this meeting will draw together Paediatric Endocrinologists from across Australia and New Zealand to present a united view of the best research and up-to-date care of children with diabetes mellitus in Australia and New Zealand. We hope to make available some of the visiting experts to local families in "Meet the Expert" sessions on the future of diabetes mellitus care.”

A proportion of Events Queensland’s support is applied to engaging key international speakers who are recognised leaders in their field, for these events. Following the conferences these speakers are then required to speak at local universities, sharing their knowledge and expertise with their local colleagues.    

Brisbane Convention Centre General Manager, Bob O’Keeffe said securing these high profile events for Brisbane in such an ultra competitive environment evidenced the successful strategy of Brisbane’s robust collaborative approach. “These events are brilliant for Brisbane; they reinforce our appeal as a world class conference destination and make the imminent opening of our expanded Grey Street venue even more pertinent.”

Brisbane Marketing’s Convention Bureau Director, Annabel Sullivan says attracting conferences like this to Brisbane enables it to build on its reputation as a leader in the science and healthcare sectors.

"These international conferences represent a significant opportunity to position Brisbane as Australia’s new world city" added Ms Sullivan.

To download a selection of images click here

Enquiries: Gail Sawyer, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
T: +61 7 3308 3023 M: 0439 733 509 E: gails@bcec.com.au

About BCEC:
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre is owned by South Bank Corporation and proudly managed by leading international venue management specialists AEG Ogden.

About AEG Ogden:
AEG Ogden is a joint venture between Australian interests and AEG Facilities of the United States.
AEG Ogden manages venues throughout the Asia Pacific region, including the Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centres, the Qatar National Convention Centre (currently under construction), Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Sydney’s Acer Arena, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, the Perth Arena (currently under construction) and live theatres including Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre and the Perth Concert Hall.

About AEG Facilities:
AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, is the leading sports, entertainment and venue operator in the world.  AEG Facilities, a stand-alone affiliate of AEG, owns, operates or consults with 100 of the industry’s preeminent venues worldwide, across five continents, and works in concert with affiliated AEG entities, including live event producer, AEG Live, AEG Global Partnerships and AEG Development to support the success of AEG venues across the globe.  AEG owns, operates or provides services to venues including STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, Calif.), The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.), Nokia Theatre L.A. Live (Los Angeles, Calif.), Citizens Business Bank Arena (Ontario, Calif.), Valley View Casino Center (San Diego, Calif.) Sprint Center (Kansas City, Mo.), XL Center and Rentschler Field (Hartford, Conn.), The Rose Garden (Portland, Ore.), KeyArena (Seattle, Wash.), KFC YUM! Center (Louisville, Ky.), AmericanAirlines Arena (Miami, Fla.), AT&T Center (San Antonio, Tx.), Time Warner Cable Arena (Charlotte, N.C.), Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.), Target Center (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), The O2 Arena (London, England), O2 World (Berlin, Germany), O2 World Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany), Ahoy Arena (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Pernambuco Stadium (Recife, Brazil), Acer Arena (Sydney, Australia), Globe Arenas (Stockholm, Sweden) and the Qatar National Convention Centre (Doha, Qatar).  For more information, please visit www.aegworldwide.com