Liberal Democrat Party Conference 2011
The ICC in Birmingham is hosting the Liberal Democrats Autumn Conference (17th-21st September) which will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats the Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP and members of the cabinet.
Over 7500 delegates are expected to attend along with 1600 of the world's media as Birmingham is once again placed in the spotlight.
PROTESTS:
Upto 1,500 people took part in planned protests on Sunday the 18th of September. The TUC union organised the event with a Right to Work 'March for the Alternative' expected down parts of Broad Street, onto Berkley Street, Holiday Street through the city and ending on Lionel Street for a rally. West Midland Police say it passed off peacefully with no arrests. Heart went down and filmed the event:
THE VENUE:
Nick Waight, managing director of The ICC said, "We are extremely pleased to welcome back the Liberal Democrats to our venue. It is always an honour to be entrusted with such high profile conferences but for the staff here it is business as usual providing the extremely high standards of service and expertise we give to all our clients."
In addition to the main conference, which will close with a speech from Nick Clegg there will be over 200 fringe events taking place directly at The ICC during the conference...with a total of 500 across the city. Sessions will range from breakfast meetings, presentations, evening dinners and receptions.
Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the liberal democrats the Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP said, "I'm extremely pleased that the Liberal Democrats have returned to Birmingham for our conference this autumn. The welcome we received and the professionalism shown to us when we first came to the ICC in the spring of last year made us determined to return as soon as possible."
SECURITY:
There will be added security on Broad Street and the surrounding area, but West Midlands Police say they are well prepared, they've done a search and seal operation ahead of the conference starting, and have made the ICC and Hyatt hotel an island site. Intelligence services have informed West Midlands Police that a threat to the conference is low.
Broad Street and Brindley Place will remain open for business as usual, with some traffic restrictions in place, but say it shouldn't stop anyone from coming into the city.
TRAFFIC:
Parts of Broad Street and the surrounding roads will be closed to traffic, but not pedestrians to see how it will affect you click on the link below:
Traffic restrictions during Liberal Democrat Party Conference 2011
LOCAL ECONOMY:
Mike Olley, from the Broad Street Business Improvement District (BID), said: “This conference is a fantastic opportunity for Broad Street’s hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues to show off their best side. Major events such as political conferences...play a key role in bringing influential visitors and media to the city. Birmingham’s visitor numbers reached a high of 32.8million in the last year, helping boost the value of its visitor economy to £4.6billion.
