Published by Neil ThompsonThe fifth Labour Party Annual Conference held at ACC Liverpool welcomed thousands of visitors and generated record economic impact for the city. A total of 18,000 delegates attended the five-day event, generating an estimated £29m in economic benefit. It is set to return to the venue next year.
The conference, which was held across the entire waterfront campus – ACC Liverpool, Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the M&S Bank Arena, included more than 515 fringe events, key note speeches and networking opportunities. The exhibition centre housed a 2,200-seat auditorium for plenary sessions in addition to a 300-stand exhibition. The arena was transformed into individual meeting spaces, and the interconnected Pullman Liverpool operated as the headquarters hotel for the conference.
Venue staff received a standing ovation during the closing session after Johanna Baxter, chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee, said: “Please can we have a very well-deserved round of applause for all the venue security staff, our stewards, for making this the best Labour Party conference we’ve ever had.”
“We were really pleased to welcome the Labour Party and its thousands of delegates back for the fifth time, creating a buzz across our campus and the city. I’m really proud of my whole team who worked incredibly hard to deliver this complex event in collaboration with, and as advised by, our client and other authorities. The visitor experience is at the heart of everything we do and our security and stewarding staff in particular went above and beyond.
Faye Dyer, chief executive of The ACC Liverpool Group
“We also worked closely in partnership with our catering partner Sodexo Live! and the Labour Party to deliver one of the most socially impactful conferences yet – both in terms of sustainability and working with local communities.”
Local businesses were given the opportunity to engage with the Labour Party through their SME Sunday event. The day included roundtable discussions on a range of business themes with shadow cabinet members listening to attendees’ experiences to help design Labour policy.
Jonathan Reynolds MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "Labour backs small businesses and our Annual Conference is a great opportunity to champion the good business practice we see here in the UK.
“Labour supports businesses of all sizes, and it was fantastic to see the growing social enterprise market showcased here in Liverpool. Labour knows the value of business to communities and our economy that's why we will give firms of all sizes the strong economic foundations they need to prosper."
In addition to this year’s outing, the Labour Party conference has taken place at the venue in 2011, 2016, 2018 and 2022.
Dyer added: “The whole city works together to organise and deliver a major conference of this scale. We are thrilled that the conference will return to our venue next year and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership with the Labour Party and all organisations involved in delivering this fantastic event.”
ACC Liverpool has welcomed thousands of delegates through its doors this year to a wide variety of conference including the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress, Diabetes UK and British Orthopaedic Association. Forthcoming conferences include Drug Discovery, Unison LGBT+ and NHS Providers
