RCN to hold first AGM in Liverpool
28 Mar 07
The Royal College of Nursing is to hold its annual general meeting in Liverpool for the first time ever. The Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool will host the event in October 2008, when up to 800 nurses from across the UK will arrive in the city for two days.
The event organisers were won over by the new £146million facilities being built on the King’s Waterfront. RCN is the world's largest professional union of nurses, with more than 390,000 members.
Brian French, Conference and Events Manager, Royal College of Nursing, said: "We’re so excited about coming to Liverpool with this event, particularly as the city is celebrating its year as European Capital of Culture.
"ACC Liverpool will be a spectacular facility, in an impressive location right on the waterfront. We were originally planning to hold the AGM elsewhere, but once we were given a hard-hat tour of the facilities, we were bowled over by them.
"I will undoubtedly be looking at Liverpool seriously as a potential destination for our largest event, RCN Congress, which involves up to 5,000 delegates." Bob Prattey, Chief Executive of ACC Liverpool, said: "It is wonderful to be working with organisations as high-profile as the RCN and we are really looking forward to welcoming them to the city.
"It is our aim to impress them so much with the facilities, the professionalism of the team and, above all, the city of Liverpool, that they will want to return time and time again."
ACC Liverpool will provide a 10,600-seat arena, a 1,350 seat convention centre, and total exhibition space in
excess of 7,000 square metres. It will open in January 2008 in time for the opening ceremony of Capital of
Culture.
Council Leader Warren Bradley said: "It is fantastic that Liverpool is now attracting big organisations of the calibre of the RCN.
"ACC Liverpool is a great example of the city council working with public and private sector partners to deliver a project which will result in lasting benefits to the whole of Liverpool. This AGM is just one of the many events which will help position Liverpool firmly on the map for leisure and business visitors."
ACC Liverpool already has 42 confirmed events in 2008 and beyond, with some organisers booking as far in advance as 2014. ACC Liverpool has been funded by Liverpool City Council, English Partnerships, Objective One and the North West Development Agency. Regeneration body Liverpool Vision also plays a significant role in facilitating the development.
For more information, contact Jane Wolstenholme on 07983 649 747.