HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A convention center (
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...
; or conference centre in
British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly ...
) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees. Very large venues, suitable for major trade shows, are sometimes known as exhibition halls. Convention centers typically have at least one
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
and may also contain
concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
s, lecture halls,
meeting room A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...
s, and
conference room A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...
s. Some large resort area hotels include a convention center.


Types

* Meeting facilities with lodging: hotels that include their own convention space in addition to accommodation and other related facilities, known as convention hotels. * Meeting facilities without lodging: are convention centers that do not include accommodation; usually located adjacent to or near a hotel(s). * Other: any convention and meeting facilities designed to hold large numbers of people. Can exist alone (e.g., stadiums, arenas, parks, etc.) or within other structures (e.g., university lecture halls, museums, theaters). Usually do not include accommodation.


History

The original convention centers or halls were in
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s and palaces. Originally a hall in a castle would be designed to allow a large group of lords, knights and government officials to attend important meetings with the king. A more ancient tradition would have the king or lord decide disputes among his people. These administrative actions would be done in the great hall and would exhibit the wisdom of the king as judge to the general populace. One of the most famous convention center debacles happened in France on June 20, 1789. King Louis XVI locked a group known as the Third Estate out of the meeting hall in Versailles. This led to the revolutionary group holding their meeting in an indoor tennis court. This was the first modern democratic conference center and lead to the Tennis Court Oath and the French Revolution.


Some historic centers


19th-century exhibition halls

* 1850
Bingley Hall Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site. Precursor The precursor of Bingley Hall was an " ...
(destroyed by fire in 1984),
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England * 1851
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...
(destroyed by fire in 1936), London, England * 1855
Palais de l'Industrie The Palais de l'Industrie (Palace of Industry) was an exhibition hall located in Paris between the Seine River and the Champs-Élysées, which was erected for the Paris World Fair in 1855. This was the last of several buildings with the same nam ...
(dismantled in 1897), Paris, France * 1873
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
, London, England * 1876 Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States * 1878 Exhibition Place, Toronto, Canada * 1878
La Rural La Rural: Agricultural and Livestock Exhibition of Argentina ''La Exposición Rural'' (in English: The Rural Exhibition), is an annual agricultural and livestock show held in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event is organ ...
, Buenos Aires, Argentina *1878 Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States * 1879
Garden Palace The Garden Palace was a large, purpose-built exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 in Sydney, Australia. It was designed by James Barnet and constructed by John Young, at a cost of £191,800 in onl ...
(destroyed by fire in 1882), Sydney, Australia * 1880 Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Australia * 1898
Aberdeen Pavilion The Aberdeen Pavilion (''Pavillon Aberdeen'' in French) is an exhibition hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Overlooking the Rideau Canal, it is located in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa's historic fairgrounds. For many years, the building was known as th ...
, Ottawa, Canada * 1898–1903 Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, Netherlands


20th-century exhibition halls

* 1900 Grand Palais, Paris, France * 1909
Festhalle A Festhalle is a German arena or community center. The root meaning of the name "Fest-halle" literally means "Feast-Hall," but is best translated as "Festival Hall" or "Civic Center." Festhalles can be found in many towns and cities in Germany, and ...
, Frankfurt, Germany * 1955
McCormick Place McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCorm ...
, Chicago, Illinois, USA * 1958 Centre of New Industries and Technologies, Paris, France * 1959
Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it ha ...
, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA * 1974
Kenyatta International Convention Centre The Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), formerly the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, is a 28-story building located in Nairobi, Kenya. The KICC is located in the City Square of Nairobi, and is a crucial address for a numb ...
, Nairobi, Kenya * 1975 Helsinki Fair Centre, Helsinki, Finland * 1976
Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the world's largest LEED certi ...
, Atlanta, Georgia, USA * 1979 Internationales Congress Centrum, Berlin, Germany * 1981
Moscone Center The George R. Moscone Convention Center (pronounced ), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three block ...
, San Francisco, California, USA * 1983 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, China * 1985
Tampere Fair Centre Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre ( fi, Tampereen Messu- ja Urheilukeskus) is an indoor venue in Tampere, Finland. It hosted European Wrestling Championships in 2008. The centre has 4 halls and the first one was built in 1985. See also * List ...
, Tampere, FinlandThe story of Tampere Trade Fairs
/ref> * 1988 Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Washington, USA * 1989
Taipei International Convention Center The Taipei International Convention Center (TICC; ) is a convention center in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The convention center is an integral part of the Taipei World Trade Center. Except for renting for conferences and exhibitions, the ven ...
, Taipei, Taiwan * 1990
Colorado Convention Center The Colorado Convention Center (CCC) is a multi-purpose convention center located in Downtown Denver, Colorado. At 2,200,000 square feet (total space) it is currently the 12th largest convention center in the United States. It opened in June 19 ...
, Denver, Colorado, USA * 1993
Pennsylvania Convention Center The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in the Market East section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events. The "L"-shaped complex occupies four ci ...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA * 1997 Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo, Japan


21st-century exhibition halls

* 2001 Bethlehem Convention Palace, Bethlehem * 2008 BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, UK * 2008
Raleigh Convention Center The Raleigh Convention Center is a convention and exhibition facility in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that opened in September 2008. The architect was Tvsdesign with the participation of local firms O'Brien/Atkins Associates and Clearscapes. ...
, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA * 2012 Convention Center Poet Ronaldo Cunha Lima, João Pessoa, Brazil * 2014
Kaohsiung Exhibition Center The Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (KEC; ) is a convention center in Cianjhen District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History Designed by Australian architect, Philip Cox, the KEC was initiated in 2006 and built by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in which ...
, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan * 2017
AU Convention Center AU Convention Center is a convention at Beach road, Pandurangapuram, Visakhapatnam it was inaugurated in the year of 2017 by Vice-President of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Repu ...
, Visakhapatnam, India * 2021 Rudraksha Convention Center,
Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...
, India


Image gallery

Image:Yarmarka.jpg, Exhibition Hall of the
Makaryev Fair Nizhny Novgorod Fair (''old name — Makaryev Fair'') (russian: Нижегородская ярмарка) was a fair in Nizhny Novgorod held annually every July near Makaryev Monastery on the left bank of the Volga River from the mid-16th cent ...
File:Berlin Kongresshalle „Schwangere Auster“.jpg, Kongresshalle Berlin – House of the Cultures of the World Image:Nm toronto metro toronto convention centre.jpg,
Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street West in the former Railway Lands in downtown Toronto. ...
Image:Salon Chichen Itza in Siglo XXI Convention Centre, Mérida, Mexico.JPG, Siglo XXI Convention Centre in Mérida, Mexico Image:20070110 McCormick Place (2).JPG,
McCormick Place McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCorm ...
in Chicago, the largest Convention center in North America Image:Prins Bernhard Hoeve - 2nd entrance.jpg, The back entrance of the PBH convention center in
Zuidlaren Zuidlaren (Noordenvelds: ''Zuudlaoren'') is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug. The village is part ...
, Netherlands Image:Pirkkahalli entrance.jpg, The entrance to the Pirkkahalli sports arena at the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre in Tampere, Finland Image:Binyanei-HaUmah.JPG, Jerusalem International Convention Center Image:Sandiegoconventioncenterfront.jpg, View of the west portion of the San Diego Convention Center from West Harbor Drive. The San Diego Convention Center is one of the largest in North America and is home to Comic-Con International Image:Pragati_Maidan,_Hall_6.JPG, Hall #6 in
Pragati Maidan Pragati Maidan is a venue for large exhibitions and conventions in the city of New Delhi, India. It has an area of nearly 150 acres (more than 625,000m2) of exhibition space, being among the biggest exhibition centers in India. It is owned, ...
, New Delhi, India Image:David_L._Lawrence_Convention_Center,_Pittsburgh,_from_a_bridge_2006.jpg, Pittsburgh's
David L. Lawrence Convention Center The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLLCC) is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is served by two exits on Interstate 579. The initial David L. Lawrence ...
, the first
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
-certified convention center in North America Image:High view of corferias.jpg, Corferias Exposition Center in Bogota, Colombia Image:Oregon_Convention_Center_Dusk_1_(edit).jpg,
Oregon Convention Center The Oregon Convention Center is a convention center in Portland, Oregon. Completed in 1989 and opened in 1990, it is located on the east side of the Willamette River in the Lloyd District neighborhood. It is best known for the twin spire towers, ...
in Portland, Oregon Image:Beurs_van_Berlage,_Amsterdam,_2012.jpg, Beurs van Berlage convention center Amsterdam, the Netherlands Image:AICC Arusha.jpg, Arusha International Conference Centre
Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern b ...
, Tanzania Image:Birchwood-hotel-and-conference-centre-exterior-590x390.jpg, Birchwood Conference Centre, Johannesburg Image:GL events Riocentro - aérea 2014.jpg, Riocentro convention center in Rio de Janeiro, the largest in Latin America, and also a 2016 Olympic venue Image:Pavilhao_de_congresso_e_convencoes,_centro_de_convenções_de_joao_pessoa.jpg, Convention Center Poet Ronaldo Cunha Lima in João Pessoa File:Bramble's views Toledo, Ohio - diamond anniversary 1837-1912 - DPLA - a4b983d79cfcfaaf7368d108fe048f73 (page 19) (cropped).jpg, The Terminal Auditorium, an early 20th century convention center in Toledo, Ohio File:Liege_Palais_des_Congres_R01.jpg, Congress center (''Palais des Congrès'') in Liège, Belgium


See also

* Stadium * List of convention and exhibition centers * List of convention centers named after people


References


External links


Historic Conference Centres of Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convention Center