Press releases

Birmingham has been firmly in the media spotlight as it welcomed more than 13,000 delegates to The Conservative Party Conference.

With delegate numbers higher than in previous years at any Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham and The ICC are celebrating an exceptional event that showcased not only the UK’s premier convention centre but the city itself.

Widely hailed as a success by visitors and exhibitors from all over the world the conference staged a large exhibition, and more than 250 fringe sessions using every part of The ICC. Over 800 press attended, broadcasting live from the venue to the rest of the world.
 
Leader of the Conservative Party, The Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP delivered his closing speech in the prestigious Symphony Hall.  During his visit to the venue he said, “It’s great to be in Birmingham … energetic, vibrant and on-the-up – I can’t think of a better place for the Conservative Party to meet.”

Geoff Fenlon, General Manager, The ICC said: “We have had a really terrific conference. Team ICC pulled together a fantastic event and I’m extremely proud of everyone involved. The feedback we have received from delegates has been wholly positive.  I would like to thank Team Birmingham - Marketing Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police, and the Broad Street BID, who have all worked together to deliver an outstanding conference. We look forward to welcoming the party back in 2010.”  

Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham said:  “The Conservative Party Conference has not only demonstrated that Birmingham is a world-class events destination, it has shown national opinion formers that this is a welcoming and cosmopolitan city with much to offer.  

“The arrival of 13,000 additional visitors to the city has undoubtedly provided an important boost to the local economy, filling hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and other facilities for four days.  The media attention alone will carry significant value, with 2,000 mentions of Birmingham counted in the first two days across a whole range of print and broadcast outlets.

 “We will be gathering data from businesses to analyse the full economic impact of the conference but it has undoubtedly been a huge success and excellent for Birmingham.  The Team Birmingham approach between ourselves, The NEC Group, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Police, Brindleyplace, Broad Street BID and other organisations has worked really well and we now have a plan in place that we can re-visit when the Conservatives come back in 2010.”

See what the media thought of Birmingham here.