ICC SYDNEY POISED FOR RECOVERY

SYDNEY’S International Convention Centre is “poised to drive the economic recovery of the CBD,” according to its 2020/21 annual performance review released this week.

The report confirms that despite the ongoing impact and restrictions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, ICC Sydney hosted more than 352 events across the year for over 200,000 attendees.

Of those, 200 were in-person, along with 80 virtual gatherings and 72 in a hybrid format.

During May, when NSW restrictions had eased, almost 90,000 delegates joined 60 events, with ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy saying “this return to near-normal domestic activity confirmed the team’s success in maintaining client and stakeholder confidence throughout the pandemic”.

“Managing the present has allowed us to build our future... we expect to be back to delivering spend across the NSW community of $1 billion annually within the next five years.”

During 2020/21 the venue upgraded its technology, broadcast services and team skills to run hybrid and virtual events 100% in-house, while Donaghy also played a key leadership role as part of the Business Events Council of Australia, advocating for the industry to support the ongoing recovery of the sector.

“Thanks to the support of the NSW Government and Darling Harbour Live, despite the challenges we have faced together, our experience and agility has seen the team continue to deliver success for our clients, our community and our supply chain and the strength in event enquiries leaves us optimistic for an accelerated road to recovery as soon as the operating conditions allow,” Donaghy said, noting that ongoing communication had also been vital to build confidence with clients to book future events.