Harrogate Convention Centre is a convention and

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

centre in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

Previously named Harrogate International Centre it was renamed Harrogate Convention Centre in April 2017. The centre has been described as being a "magnet for business conferences" and generates around £60 million per year into the local economy. While Harrogate had been hosting conferences and exhibitions since the end of the Second World War, the 2,000-seat main auditorium opened in 1982 and was the host of the

Eurovision Song Contest 1982 The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song " Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Organised by the Europ ...

. The venue has since expanded to include eight exhibition halls offering of space as well as ancillary facilities including a hotel. Further expansion took place between 2009 and 2014. The Royal Hall holds 1,000 people, whereas the Queen's Suite holds up to 600. The Royal Hall is

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building which is a former concert hall designed by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...

and Robert Beale. The between April 2013 and December 2018, the director of the conference centre was Simon Kent. Since January 2019, the director is Paula Lorimer. In April 2020, the centre was converted into

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber The NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up by NHS England in 2020 to help to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital was constructed inside the Harrogate Convention Cen ...

in response to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

was furnished with 500 beds.

Notable events

The Liberal Democrats have held the

Liberal Democrat Federal Conference The Liberal Democrat Conference, also known inside the party as the ''Liberal Democrat Federal Conference'', is a twice-per-year political conference of the British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in ...

at the centre on six occasions since the party's formation in 1988. The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

held their 2022 Autumn Conference at the centre. The Eurovision Song Contest was held at the International Centre in 1982.

References

External links

*
Harrogate Convention Centre website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Harrogate Exhibition and conference centres in England Commercial buildings completed in 1982 Event venues established in 1982 1982 establishments in England

History

Notable events

See also

References

External links