Like the animated light, video and music spectacle that dances on the sails of the Sydney Opera House and other structures during the annual 18-day Vivid Sydney winter festival, Australia’s largest city and leading business events destination is truly illuminating for groups.
For meetings of the mind and pleasure pursuits alike, multidimensional Sydney is poised for yet more starlight as 2016 sees the curtain lift on game-changing MICE-related investments.
“Sydney is entering an exciting new era with urban development and infrastructure projects charging ahead,” says Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO, Business Events Sydney. “We’re looking forward to some major unveilings in the next 12 months—most notably the opening of the International Convention Centre Sydney [ICC Sydney] this December.”
Commanding the Darling Harbour waterfront, the multi-venue facility is already attracting major bookings, while adding more wattage to Sydney’s global MICE beacon.
G’Day Darling
Few urban settings can match the visual glory of Sydney Harbour and its skyscraper-backed landmarks, including the historic district The Rocks, Royal Botanic Garden and of course the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.
Located around the tip of Miller’s Point west of this postcard-perfect scene, Darling Harbour is poised to assert its own dynamic identity when the integrated ICC Sydney convention, exhibition and entertainment complex opens later this year.
The wow factor begins with ICC Sydney’s multi-angled geometric design, and continues with its credentials. Replacing the outdated Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre, the A$1.1 billion project (US$790 million) is part of the larger A$3 billion (US$2.1 billion) transformation of Darling Harbour.
With an attached 600-room headquarters hotel and another 4,500 rooms within a 10-minute walk, the high-tech complex is versatility defined.
Scalable from 3,500 to 8,000 attendees, the tiered ICC Sydney Theatre is ideal for plenary sessions and entertainment. Offering more than 376,000 square feet of exhibition space, ICC Sydney Exhibitions includes a huge open-air event deck with a bar and lounge. With venues including tiered plenary theaters for 2,500 and 1,000 delegates, respectively, and 86,000-plus square feet of space in 70 meeting rooms, ICC Sydney Conventions will also feature Australia’s largest ballroom. Offering superb city and water views, the top-floor room can accommodate 2,000 for banquets or 3,500 for cocktail receptions.
Planners are already lining up to say g’day to the new facility.
“Global interest is strong and we have already secured more than 30 events in the professional services, medical, technology and other sectors for ICC Sydney, with many more in the pipeline,” says Lewis-Smith. “Along with greater hosting capacity, the new center’s close proximity to the CBD [Central Business District], the education and start-up hub in Ultimo (including the University of Technology Sydney) and other vibrant precincts will help to deepen and broaden connections for clients, enhancing collaboration and meeting outcomes.”
The overall rejuvenation of Darling Harbour also bodes well for the future.
“Bringing more hotel rooms, businesses, students and locals to the area while improving links to neighboring university and innovation suburbs, the project helps reinforce Sydney’s position as the intellectual capital of Australia,” Lewis-Smith says.
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Access Points
Airlift from North America to Australia is up 19 percent over the past five years, making it easier than ever to meet Down Under. Six carriers offering nonstop service include American Airlines, which launched new daily direct service to Sydney from Los Angeles last December, and Qantas, which introduced six weekly nonstop flights to Sydney from San Francisco in the same month.
From Sydney Airport, where Wolfgang Puck and Australian chef Shannon Bennett are the star brands in the new City View dining area debuting soon in Terminal 1 International Departures beyond customs, it’s 13 minutes by train or roughly 30 minutes by taxi to Sydney’s CBD, just five miles away.
Offering some 33,000 rooms, Sydney’s hotel collection features another convention district “darling,” Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Darling Harbour.
Renowned as Australia’s largest hotel, the property is on track to complete a major A$200 million (US$144 million) redevelopment just ahead of the ICC Sydney opening.
Scheduled for a June 2016 unveiling, highlights include nearly 40,000 square feet of convention space accommodating up to 2,500 delegates, plus generous prefunction areas and multiple breakout rooms. Two pillar-free ballrooms, each featuring breathtaking harbor views, can accommodate 1,000 and 1,100 attendees, respectively. Slated to follow in August, a striking new 222-room tower boosts the hotel’s count to 892 new and refurbished rooms, including 30 suites, with other enhancements such as the lobby, expansive new dining area and rooftop bar.
Other CBD properties include the 509-room InterContinental Sydney, offering 15 meeting rooms within the restored 1851 Treasury Building, and the 565-room Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, with 18 function rooms.
Joined from two heritage buildings, downtown’s chic new 62-room Old Clare offers a 16-person meeting room plus three restaurants and two bars.
Unique Ingredients
Among the world’s most desired incentive destinations, Sydney is synonymous with “outside of the box” venues and experiences for groups.
Launched in New York City this January, the latest installment of Tourism Australia’s global “There’s nothing like Australia” campaign focuses on aquatic and coastal experiences. Boasting the world’s largest natural harbor and legendary beaches along some 149 miles of fjord-like shorelines and waterways, Sydney is rich with liquid capital.
No visit is complete without doing the safety-harnessed walk to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb Sydney, or taking lessons from Let’s Go Surfing at iconic Bondi Beach. EastSail offers corporate regattas, sunset cocktail tours and more, while Oz Jet Boating offers tours in high-speed Red Shark craft. Sydney’s harbor islands, such as former penal sites Fort Denison and UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cockatoo Island, are ideal for tours.
Sydney’s adventurous spirit extends to the kitchen. Those answering the call include Rene Redzepi, who relocated his globally top-ranked Noma restaurant from Copenhagen to Sydney Harbour for a 10-week residency starting in January. Reservations went in a flash, but groups will have no worries finding culinary magic in Sydney, such as relaunched Bennelong Restaurant from acclaimed Australian chef Peter Gilmore.
Located within the Sydney Opera House, the restaurant takes its name from a tidal rock island where Aboriginal women once met to eat shellfish and tell stories. With versatile private options that include the kitchen’s four-seat table and the Harbour Bridge as backdrop, Gilmore’s menu strikes a winning balance between indigenous tradition and the diversity of today’s Australia.
“The Sydney scene is particularly dynamic, with our multicultural landscape giving chefs the freedom to explore many culinary traditions,” says Gilmore, who also helms Quay—Australia’s most awarded restaurant—a short walk away. “Making the most of our abundant sunshine and good weather, we embrace fresh flavors, quality seafood and other ingredients to create true variety and originality.”
In the convention hall, on the water and at the table, Sydney is switched on and fired up for success.
