Glasgow recently welcomed the organising committee of The World Water Forum, who are considering the city for their Congress in 2015. Glasgow is competing against South Korea to host this international summit, which would welcome 20,000 delegates to the city. The final decision of the committee will be announced in October; here is why we think Glasgow should be the natural choice for this and many other world class events:
Glasgow - A Leading Conference Destination
1. Accessibility
Glasgow is well served by transport links by air, rail and road. There are regular shuttle services from all London Airports to the city, as well as direct flights from most European cities and further afield from Dubai and New York, and Airport transfers to the city centre take just 15-20 minutes. See the BAA Glasgow Airport website for full details of airlines and destinations. For delegates travelling from within the UK, Glasgow is served by Central and Queen Street stations, and can be reached from London in just over 4 hours.
2. Conference Support Services
The award winning Glasgow City Marketing Bureau work tirelessly to promote the city to a local and national audience. They offer free and impartial advice to conference hosts and professional conference organisers includings venue and accommodation sourcing, organisational support, financial support and marketing support.
The SECC is undoubtably the reason that many an organising committee choose Glasgow for their events. The venue provides five exhibition halls, the Clyde Auditorium (locally known as ’The Armadillo’) and 31 breakout rooms, providing flexible space for 10 – 10,000 delegates.
One of the biggest selling points of the city is the diverse range of accommodation stock available in the city, ranging from the 5* Blythswood Square to new concepts in hotel experience like the CitizenM Hotel and providing accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets.
3. Leisure Activities
The actual conference and accommodation facilites are clearly very important when choosing a conference destination, but there also needs to be an excellent range of leisure activities for the delegates and their partners or families while the congress takes place. Glasgow is a great base from which to explore Scotland, with the historic cities of Edinburgh and Stirling and the Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond all around an hour away. If shopping is your passion, Glasgow city centre has world class shops and boutiques, aptly known locally as ‘The Style Mile’.
Stunning Loch Lomond Scenery
4. Other World Class Events Taking Place
As everyone knows, there is no more reliable way to rate a service or product than by others’ recommendations. In the next two months, Glasgow will be hosting three very large medical congresses; the 41st Annual Meeting of the International Continence Society (ICS 2011), the 50th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE 2011) and the 15th European Society for Organ Transplantaion Congress (EOST 2011). This proves the confidence that organising committees have in Glasgow being the right host city.
Glasgow is of course also hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and has been chosen to host the MOBO awards in 2011, 2013 and 2015 – further proof that Glasgow really is a world class conference and events venue.
