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A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) [1] is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees. Very large venues, suitable for major trade shows, are sometimes known as exhibition halls. Convention centers typically have at least one auditorium and may also contain concert halls, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and conference rooms. Some large resort area hotels include a convention center.
The original convention centers or halls were in castles and palaces. Originally a hall in a castle would be designed to allow a large group of lords, knights and government officials to attend important meetings with the king. A more ancient tradition would have the king or lord decide disputes among his people. These administrative actions would be done in the great hall and would exhibit the wisdom of the king as judge to the general populace.
One of the most famous convention center debacles happened in France on June 20, 1789. King Louis XVI locked a group known as the Third Estate out of the meeting hall in Versailles. This led to the revolutionary group holding their meeting in an indoor tennis court. This was the first modern democratic conference center and lead to the Tennis Court Oath [4] and the French Revolution.
The Beurs van Berlage is a building on the Damrak, in the centre of Amsterdam. It was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. It influenced many modernist architects, in particular functionalists and the Amsterdam School. It is now used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions and conferences.
The National Palace of Culture, located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the largest, multifunctional conference and exhibition centre in Southeast Europe. It was opened in 1981 in celebration of Bulgaria's 1300th anniversary.
Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre is the biggest and best-known convention center in Finland. It is located in the capital city of Helsinki, in the district of Pasila, a short walk northwards from the Pasila railway station.
Rotterdam Ahoy is a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main venues: a fairs and event hall, a congress and conference centre, and the Ahoy Arena. The latter opened on 15 January 1971 and is the largest venue, with a capacity of 16,426 as of April 2019.
The Taipei World Trade Center was inaugurated in January 1986 by Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), to provide a single, modern venue that would combine exhibition space, conference facilities, offices, and hotel accommodation for international business. TWTC combines every possible service that brings together a vast consulting service on trade-related issues, trading partners, suppliers, and markets.
The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall or Euskalduna Palace or Euskalduna Hall is located in the city of Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain), beside the Estuary of Bilbao, built in part of the area that was formerly occupied by the Euskalduna shipyards.
The Belém Cultural Center is a complex of artistic venues located in Belém in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal, with over 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft) of usable space. The centre was initially built to accommodate the programme of Portugal's Presidency of the European Council in 1992, but with the long-term goal of providing permanent venues for conferences, exhibitions and performance arts, in addition to meeting halls, shops and cafés.
The Ukrainian House International Convention Center, is the largest international exhibition and convention center in Kyiv, Ukraine. The five-storey building is the host venue for a variety of events from exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences to international association meetings, product launches, banquets, TV-ceremonies, sporting events, etc.
Bella Center is Scandinavia's second largest exhibition and conference center, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located in Ørestad between the city centre and Copenhagen Airport, it offers an indoor area of 121,800 square metres (1,311,000 sq ft) and has a capacity of 20,000 people.
The Palais des congrès de Paris is a concert venue, convention centre and shopping mall at the Porte Maillot in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. The venue was built by French architect Guillaume Gillet, and was inaugurated in 1974. Nearby the venue are Bois de Boulogne and the affluent neighbourhood of Neuilly-sur-Seine. The closest métro and RER stations are Porte Maillot and Neuilly – Porte Maillot, accessible via the lower levels of the building.
RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, formerly Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre or simply RAI Amsterdam, is a complex of conference and exhibition halls in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Beurs-World Trade Center is located on the Coolsingel and Beursplein in the centre of Rotterdam.
Square – Brussels Convention Centre is the name of a convention centre in Brussels, Belgium. It is run by the GL Events group and situated in cultural and historic district of Brussels near the national and international institutions, overlooking the city from the hillside of the Mont des Arts.
Nanjing International Expo Center is an exposition center and also a landmark in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. It has an exposition area of 120,000 square meters. The Expo Center facilities include six exposition pavilions, 38 conference rooms and a multi-function pavilion, and it is capable of hosting exhibitions with over 4,500 international standard large-scale exhibition booths. Two more exposition pavilions, a business hotel and a conference center hotel are planned.
The Brussels Exhibition Centre, also known as Brussels Expo, is the most important event complex in Brussels, Belgium. Located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken, the twelve halls that comprise it are used for the largest national and international trade fairs, exhibitions and other events. With 115,000 m2 (1,240,000 sq ft) of facility space, they constitute the largest exhibition space in the Benelux. They are also a remarkable witness to the evolution of construction techniques during the 20th century.
Centro de Convenções Poeta Ronaldo Cunha Lima located in the capital João Pessoa; was designed to be one of the most modern in Brazil, with all the necessary equipment to carry out major projects. Its structure is composed of 4 main buildings: the Mirante Tower, the Fair and Exhibition Pavilion, the Congress and Convention Hall and the Stone Theater of the Kingdom. is one of the most modern and sophisticated venues in Latin America with 48,676 m2.