Bournemouth International Centre

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Bournemouth International Centre - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 50°43′00″N 1°52′41″W / 50.71667°N 1.87806°W

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Bournemouth International Centre
Exterior of venue (c.2018)
Address	Exeter Rd Bournemouth BH2 5BH England
Coordinates	50°43′00″N 1°52′41″W / 50.71667°N 1.87806°W / 50.71667; -1.87806
Owner	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
Operator	BH Live
Built	1982–84
Inaugurated	16 August 1984
Opened	6 September 1984 (1984-09-06)^[1]
Renovated	2004
Expanded	1990
Construction cost	£19.5 million (£86.9 million in 2024 pounds^[2])
Classroom-style seating	10–50
Banquet/ballroom	2,500 (Purbeck Hall) 1,300 (Solent Hall)
Theatre seating	6,500 standing or 4,045 seated (Windsor Hall) 1,100 (Tregonwell Hall)
Enclosed space
• Total space	6,982 m² (75,150 sq ft)
• Exhibit hall floor	1,973 m² (21,240 sq ft)
• Breakout/meeting	1,000 m² (11,000 sq ft)
• Ballroom	2,748 m² (29,580 sq ft)
Parking	650 spaces
Website
Venue Website

The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC /ˈbɪk/) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it is well known for hosting national conferences of major British political parties and trade unions.

In June 2022, it was announced that the building would undergo a £1.8 million refurbishment.^[3]

Conferences

The BIC has hosted national conferences of political parties and trade unions. Neil Kinnock attacked the militant tendency at the Labour Party Conference there in 1985, and Margaret Thatcher made her last Conservative Party Conference speech at the venue in 1990.^[4]

In recent years, both Labour and the Conservatives have held their conferences at larger venues in urban centres, such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, but the BIC has continued to host the Liberal Democrat Conference.^[5]

Venues

At opening, it comprised two halls, the Windsor Hall and the Tregonwell Hall as well as a leisure swimming pool which has since been closed to provide further conference and exhibition space.

The venue's Windsor Hall has a concert capacity of 6,500 (standing) or 4,000 (seated) and is one of the bigger indoor music venues in England,^[6] often included on the arena tours of major artists. This hall has the largest tensile grid in Europe – a tensioned mesh comprising 30 miles of steel wire hung above the stage which can suspend approximately 90 tonnes of weight.^[7]

In 1990, the circular Purbeck Hall was added at a cost of £6 million.^[7]

The Solent Hall can house exhibitions or hold up to 2,000 people for standing music concerts. As part of a refurbishment costing £22 million, this hall controversially replaced the popular swimming pool and wave machine in 2004 after an unsuccessful campaign to save the facility.^[7]^[8]

Managed by social enterprise BH Live in partnership with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, the BIC is operated alongside its sister venue, The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom.

References

^ Adido. "About The BIC · BH Live". www.bic.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ "BIC to get £1.8m upgrade (and here's what's planned)". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ "BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES | Bournemouth West". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
^ "Bournemouth will host the Lib Dem conference today - with party poised to back revoking Article 50". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
^ "Bournemouth International Centre (The BIC)". Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bournemouth venue marks 25 years". 9 September 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
^ "Letter to the Editor: Council should never have closed BIC swimming pool". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 27 January 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bournemouth International Centre.

Bournemouth International Conference Bureau

Indoor arenas in the United Kingdom

England

East Midlands	Nottingham Arena Derby Arena
London	The O2 Arena Wembley Arena Copper Box Arena
North East	Newcastle Arena
North West	Co-op Live Manchester Arena Manchester Central Liverpool Arena Bolton Arena
South East	Marshall Arena Brighton Centre
South West	Westpoint Exeter Bournemouth International Centre
West Midlands	Utilita Arena Birmingham bp pulse LIVE
Yorkshire and the Humber	Leeds Arena Sheffield Arena Connexin Live Arena

Northern Ireland

The SSE Arena, Belfast

Scotland

Wales

Cardiff International Arena

Defunct

Proposed

v t e Bournemouth, Dorset
Neighbourhoods	Alder Hills Bear Cross Boscombe Charminster East Cliff East Howe Ensbury Park Hengistbury Head Hill View Holdenhurst Iford Kings Park Kinson Knighton Heath Lansdowne Littledown Malmesbury Park Mayfield Park Estate Meyrick Park Moordown Muccleshell Muscliff Northbourne Pokesdown Queen's Park Redhill Richmond Hill Richmond Park Slades Farm Southbourne Springbourne Strouden Park Talbot Heath Talbot Village Talbot Woods Throop Town Centre Townsend Tuckton Turbary Park Victoria Park Wallisdown Warren Hill Westbourne West Cliff West Howe Wick Winton Withybed Wood Woodbury
Blue Flag beaches	Alum Chine Durley Chine Fisherman's Walk Southbourne Beach
Buildings	Bournemouth Airport Bournemouth International Centre Bournemouth Town Hall Bournemouth Pier Bournemouth University Bournemouth War Memorial Dean Court Royal Bournemouth Hospital Pavilion Theatre
Sports	AFC Bournemouth Bournemouth Bobcats Bournemouth F.C. Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic F.C. Bournemouth Rowing Club Bournemouth Rugby Club
Cemeteries	Bournemouth (East) Bournemouth (Kinson) Bournemouth (North) and Crematorium Bournemouth (Wimborne Road)
History	Tramways 1908 Tram disaster Bournemouth typhoid outbreak of 1936 Bournemouth Blitz 1944 Moordown air disaster 2023 Bournemouth beach incident
Other	Borough Council elections Churches Coat of arms of Bournemouth Gardens People Schools Water Company

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