Member Article

Giant exhibition structure marks retail conference

Construction is complete on Newcastle and Gateshead’s largest-ever temporary exhibition structure. The exhibition space is to be used for next week’s Conference and Showcase for retail property organisation BCSC at The Sage Gateshead.

Contractors started work last week on the free-standing exhibition space located in the Mill Road Car Park adjacent to The Sage. The 5,500sqm building will be used to house around 100 exhibitors taking part in the trade event’s Showcase.

More than 3,000 retailers, developers, owners, agents, public sector executives and others with an interest in the managed retail environment will be taking part in the event which runs from 5-7 November.

Speakers at the Conference are due to include: Sebastian Coe, Sir Bob Geldof and the global explorer Pen Hadow; Julia Cleverdon, Chief Executive of Business in the Community; and Wayne Hemingway, designer and co-founder of fashion label Red or Dead.

Michael Green, BCSC Chief Executive, said: “The Showcase is a crucial part of the Conference and in order to successfully host it in NewcastleGateshead we needed a purpose-built environment in which to deliver exhibition space. People can start to literally see the sort of impact that this event will have on the local economy during the course of the Conference.”

Jessica Roberts, Head of Business Tourism at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “The addition of this vast temporary showcase space next to the Sage Gateshead demonstrates just how creative NewcastleGateshead can be when it comes to responding to the requirements of even the largest conferences.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .