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, Finland
The 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