Three more conference centres have joined the Historic Conference Centres of Europe (
Three more conference centres have joined the Historic Conference Centres of Europe (
At a recent meeting the HCCE board accepted applications from Germany`s Kaisersaal Erfurt and Kongress Palais Kassel, and the Athinais Conference Centre in Athens, Greece, to join the group. Other prospective members are being evaluated to see if they meet the alliance`s strict criteria.
The Kaisersaal is an interesting addition to the HCCE`s portfolio of heritage conference venues, not only because it is the first member centre in eastern Germany but also because of the building`s place in history. A former ballroom, theatre and concert hall where Goethe directed plays and Schiller`s Don Carlos was premiered, it also witnessed the 1808 Congress of Erfurt attended by Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I, as well as concerts by Paganini and Liszt. Following complete reconstruction it reopened in 1994 as a modern conference centre. The main auditorium seats up to 650 people and there are six rooms for smaller events.
Famous for its Documenta art exhibitions, Kassel also boasts the Kongress Palais – a well equipped conference centre with 20 rooms and halls, facilities for up to 2,000 delegates and 5,200sqm of exhibition space in a fine neo-classical building. Among the advantages of events in Kassel are the excellent transport links and the fact that the Kongress Palais is directly linked to a recently completed four star hotel.
The Athinais Conference Centre, in the central Athens district of Votanikos, is the first HCCE member centre to be located in a former factory. In 2000 the building, an old silk mill, reopened as a conference centre with three halls, one of which seats 800 and the other two 320 each, following comprehensive renovation. Among other things, it also houses two restaurants seating 250 people, a cinema, a museum of ancient Cypriot art and an exhibition hall.
The HCCE group that approved admission of the three new centres also decided to book exhibition space at the new Frankfurt IMEX travel show next year, to support the marketing offensive currently under way in Germany. Attendance of the Salon Bedouk in Paris, Emif in Brussels, EIBTM in Geneva, MPI and ASAE in the USA and De Luxe in Cannes is also planned. In addition, the HCCE group decided to invite British agents and venue finders to a workshop in Vienna.
HCCE Executive Director Ingrid Behaghel von Flammerdinghe said: The HCCE has come a long way since its launch six years ago, but as next year`s broad-based activities show, we are going to work hard to maintain the present high levels of brand awareness. With new members on board, that will be easier – and our reputation as a `quality seal` means they are unlikely to be the last recruits to our rapidly growing organisation.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
