THE brand-new International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales is throwing open its doors to visitors tomorrow, Saturday.
The new £83.7 million facility on the eastern side of Newport has already welcomed a number of major events, and tomorrow is holding an open day, where visitors can get a look around.
The free event will include performances by the Only Boys Aloud choir, cookery demonstrations, and a chance to see the venue's meeting spaces - including its 4,000 sq m pillar-free main exhibition hall and 1,500-seat auditorium.
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The venue opened in September, and in its first month hosted events including the three-day UK Space Conference for 2,100 delegates, the Green Party conference, and An Experience With Arnold Schwarzenegger when the Hollywood superstar entertained 1,300 guests at a black tie gala dinner.
ICC Wales chief executive Ian Edwards said: “We have really hit the ground running with our opening events and shown exactly what this incredible new venue is capable of. We have had some fantastic feedback from guests and the unique features that we incorporated into the design - like the natural daylight in all parts of the venue and the floor to ceiling views of ancient woodland in the meeting rooms - have exceeded even our own expectations, now that we are able to see the reality.
“The Arnold Schwarzenegger event in the first week was a chance for local people to see the venue and we have more entertainment events lined up including a Nutcracker on Ice production running over the Christmas period, but we want to give everyone a chance to see this fantastic venue for free.
“We have had a lot of interest and support from the community since the venue started taking shape during construction and this is an opportunity to see exactly what we have created. ICC Wales is going to be a game-changing venue for Newport and for Wales, it will attract millions of new visitors and put this region on the map as a destination for staging major events.”
There will be three sessions tomorrow at 10am, 12.30pm and 3pm. Free parking is available at the venue, and ticket holders can ride Newport Bus' number 9 service for free.
The event is free, but you must register beforehand here.
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