Edinburgh International Conference Centre

Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Main building of the EICC
General information
Status	Completed
Address	The Exchange 150 Morrison Street Edinburgh EH3 8EE
Town or city	Edinburgh
Country	Scotland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	55°56′45.99″N 3°12′34.73″W
Construction started	1993
Completed	1995
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Farrells
Engineer	Arup
Website
www.eicc.co.uk

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is the principal convention and conference centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. EICC have a simple mission, to create an environment that inspires ideas that change the world.

Location

EICC Exterior at night, taken from Morrison Street by David Barbour

The centre is part of the masterplanned Exchange District in the west end of the city, and was designed by the architect Sir Terry Farrell who ran the project from his Edinburgh office with his team, opened to manage this project and other work in the Exchange.

The venue is located centrally, a short walk from Haymarket Train Station, Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens.

Building

Construction on the EICC began in March 1993 and the centre opened in September 1995. It caters to around 200,000 delegates every year and has generated in excess of £930m in revenue for the City of Edinburgh Council since opening in 1995. An extension opened in 2013 at a cost of £85 million, roughly doubling the capacity of the venue.

The Pentland Suite of EICC, taken by Malcolm Cochrane in 2014

EICC contains a world-first innovative revolving auditoria, allowing for the optimisation of space, turning the Pentland Auditorium from 600 capacity to 1,200 capacity. Additionally, the Lennox Suite's 2,000 capacity room contains a hall-wide tension wire grid and moving floor which allows for adaptability to suit events of all types.

The maximum capacity of the venue is 5,760 across over 8,000 m² of floor space, containing 8 distinct suites, 24 individual event rooms and 2 reception areas.

Notable events

In 1999 the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held in the EICC. The Church's Assembly Hall was being used by the Scottish Parliament at the time.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997 (CHOGM) was held in the EICC. To commemorate this occasion, the Clydesdale Bank issued a special commemorative £20 note. The reverse side featured an illustration of the EICC building alongside the new Clydesdale Bank building on Lothian Road, with Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Protest outside the RBS AGM at the EICC, 2010

Between 2008 and 2011 protests took place at the EICC on the occasion of the RBS AGM, responding to several controversies including the bank's bailout-out by the UK Government and concerns about the bank's funding of fossil fuel companies.

EICC has been an official venue of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2017, welcoming guests to the world's largest performance arts festival.

TED host their global TEDSummit at EICC in July 2019 with speakers including former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and musician KT Tunstall.

In January 2021, EICC opened its doors as a vaccine clinic for the Covid-19 outbreak, delivering over 250k vaccines for NHS Scotland.

External links

• Media related to Edinburgh International Conference Centre at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website