Bournemouth International Centre

50°43′00″N 1°52′41″W / 50.71667°N 1.87806°W / 50.71667; -1.87806OwnerBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole CouncilOperatorBH LiveBuilt1982–84Inaugurated16 August 1984Opened6 September 1984 (1984-09-06)^[1]Renovated2004Expanded1990£19.5 million
(£86.9 million in 2024 pounds^[2])10–50Banquet/ballroom2,500 (Purbeck Hall)
1,300 (Solent Hall)6,500 standing or 4,045 seated (Windsor Hall)
1,100 (Tregonwell Hall)Enclosed space • Total space6,982 m² (75,150 sq ft) • Exhibit hall floor1,973 m² (21,240 sq ft) • Breakout/meeting1,000 m² (11,000 sq ft) • Ballroom2,748 m² (29,580 sq ft)Parking650 spacesWebsiteVenue 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.

See also

• Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom
• List of venues in the United Kingdom

References

External links

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	Arena Birmingham Resorts World Arena
Yorkshire and the Humber	Leeds Arena Sheffield Arena Connexin Live Arena

Northern IrelandScotlandWalesDefunctProposed