HIC Talk

There’s no denying that conference and event budgets are being squeezed and organisers want to make their money work harder. While choosing a seating layout might not be the most exciting topic it is an important part of the planning process.

How delegates are seated will decide the value they get from the conference experience. If delegates get more out of the event it results in better value for the organisers. So seating is something that needs careful consideration.

Many conferences still use traditional theatre style seating. It can be very effective when a large number of people are attending because it allows people to see and hear everything that is being said or projected onto a screen. But is this really the most effective way of seating delegates for smaller meetings?

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Premier Decorations is the first company to use HIC’s new space.

The first exhibition to use Harrogate International Centre’s (HIC’s) new halls – the Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair – has been a great success. The completion of the redevelopment project provides event organisers with a perfect link to the existing facilities and the event allowed Premier Decorations to create a winter wonderland when it took over Hall H for the duration of the show.

Premier Decorations is one of the UK’s leading importers of Christmas decorations supplying retailers across the country. It has been exhibiting at the Christmas and Gift Fair for 25 years.

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Building and maintaining effective partnerships is one of the most important aspects of doing business. Partnerships create trust, offer stability and confidence for both parties involved. For the events industry, partnerships with big brands and organisations reflect commitment to good service.

At Harrogate International Centre we are committed to providing best services to our clients.

HIC hosts around 150 events and attracts in excess of 290,000 visitors each year, and is consistently acknowledged to be one of the UK’s top event venues. This has been achieved by combining premium facilities with first class customer service.

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Alison Griffin continues her look at the economic impact of events…

HIC is one of Harrogate’s biggest economic drivers, impacting on everything from tourism and event providers to local shops and infrastructure. One of the benefits of being an international event venue located in a town rather than a huge city is that we don’t work in isolation. HIC functions as part of the community. At every step we promote Harrogate and the surrounding area as a destination alongside the venue. People don’t just come to Harrogate for the venue – there is far more here on offer and we continually try to present a cohesive and developed offering to potential clients.

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Whilst scientists expect to find habitable new worlds as part of the Kepler programme in 2012, event organisers can find the industry’s newest stars at International Confex 2012 on the Harrogate International Centre(HIC) stand. HIC’s recently completed £13 million redevelopment project created two new stars of the North, increasing HIC’s capacity and ability to host a variety of events and conferences.

The focus of its stand at Confex will be to show people how they can benefit from the improved facilities. Halls H and G have increased HIC’s space by 3,100m2 – 20% – and can be used for a wide range of experiential events, banquets, corporate productions and product launches. The new halls add more space to larger events and offers exhibition space with great flow from the 2,000 seat auditorium.

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Harrogate International Centre (HIC) provides much more than just a venue for your event.  As a part of the inclusive hire package, we provide a consultative and in-depth event management service to ensure your event stands out from the crowd.

At HIC an event planner is allocated to each event to provide specialist advice and support as necessary. They prepare detailed event schedule documents for you, outlining all requirements and scheduling information including quotations for any further services.  Every event at HIC is overseen by dedicated event planners who are keen to ensure that each aspect is delivered smoothly.

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The event industry in the UK is fiercely competitive and requires strategic and smart marketing skills to attract new prospects. Marketing of a venue is both an internal and an external process. It is not only about promoting a venue to the outside world, but a successful campaign also involves maintaining good relationships with the existing clients.

At HIC we have effectively used many different forms of marketing to talk about events, the benefits that each brings to the local economy and other achievements.  Along with a strong presence in the mainstream media, we also use social media for marketing purposes and to engage with stakeholders. We keep a track of interactive networking opportunities as a way of widening the scope and reach of our promotional activities.

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UKSG has confirmed it will host its annual conference and exhibition at Harrogate International Centre (HIC) in 2014 and 2017 following the success of the event at the venue in 2011.  Revenues from the two shows are likely to be in excess of £130,000.

The organisation held its 34th annual conference and exhibition at HIC for the first time earlier this year and as the result of positive feedback from the 850 delegates  it has decided to come back for a further two years. UKSG spans a wide range of interests and activities across the scholarly information community of librarians, publishers, intermediaries and technology vendors. During the three day event, UKSG utilised the 2,000 seat auditorium for its plenary sessions, Hall Q for its exhibition stands and the Royal Hall for social events.

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In the first of two blogs looking at the positive effect of events on a local economy, Alison Griffin considers how impact can be measured.

The events industry is expected to provide a big boost to the UK economy over the next few years. Conferences and events already play a key role generating almost £25 billion a year, and Britain is recognised as one of the world leaders in the field of events.

The industry faced challenges due to the recession but it has remained strong. And growth is likely as a report by Britain for Events predicts that with the right support the industry could grow to £48.4 billion by 2020.

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It’s cabaret all the way at Harrogate International Centre (HIC). The largest venue in the North of England has received a record number of enquiries for cabaret style set up at events and conferences.

In the last 12 months, HIC has seen a massive 55% increase in the number of organisers enquiring about cabaret style seating over traditional theatre style arrangements. It believes this is because organisers are looking for better value for money and increased delegate interaction. One of the biggest benefits of cabaret style is it creates a relatively informal seating arrangement allowing delegates to communicate more effectively throughout the day.

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