Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has held its first events since reopening earlier this month, one of the first venues in Australia to reopen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centre played host to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) Queensland State of the State Lunch on Thursday, with Queensland Premier and Minister for Trade, The Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk, the keynote speaker.
Commenting on what was one of the first major events for Brisbane since the start of COVID, Premier Palaszczuk said: “We got the Convention Centre open and that is not happening in other places.”
The event attendance was capped at 260 attendees and took place in the Centre’s refurbished Plaza Ballroom, adhering to social distancing regulations. There was an interactive livestream of the event to a virtual audience of 1,500.
Since reopening, feedback from organisers and guests has been extremely enthusiastic focussing on the positive event experience in a well-managed environment, with the CEDA team telling the audience ‘There is nowhere we would rather be than at BCEC and no one else we would have trusted for this event.’
BCEC has 140 event bookings through to the end of the year with a number of conferences and exhibitions on the agenda as well as local events including school formals, university graduations and corporate meetings and is working closely with clients to successfully deliver these events according to COVID Safe guidelines.
These include new event protocols to safeguard the health and wellbeing of clients, guests and the Centre’s staff, as well as the presence of special COVID Controllers and Ambassadors on site. The BCEC Safe Event Guideline has been developed in consultation with government and health authorities and covers all aspects of the Centre’s operation, which is embodied in our Queensland Health approved Site Specific COVID Safe Plan.
The Centre’s Guideline is integrated with VenueShield, an environmental hygiene protocol developed by BCEC’s parent group, ASM Global and rolled out at 325 venues worldwide. VenueShield provides the most advanced hygiene measures and exceeds current regulations.
BCEC General Manager, Bob O’Keeffe AM, said the reopening of the Centre represented a significant step forward in the recovery of the industry in Australia. “Business Events have been the Centre’s area of expertise, knowledge and experience for more than 25 years and our committed team of event planning, technical and creative professionals are excited to be back at work ensuring events succeed and reach their full potential with the opportunity to develop and grow in future years.”
