26 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING MEMORABLE EXHIBITIONSYour next conference or exhibition will say a lot about your business, so choose a venue that's a work of art in itself. Located in one of the UK's most vibrant and creative cities, the SECC in Glasgow is one of the world'sfavourite venues, and with over 22,000m2of exhibition space, it's a market leader in the UK for conferences and exhibitions. The SECC makes a stunning impression not only with scale and aesthetics, but with unrivalled personal service offering support, flexibility and experience to help organisers grow their event. For more information, contact Breda Cruickshank, Head of Exhibition Sales - breda.cruickshank@secc.co.ukT: +44(0)141 275 6211.WWW.SECC.CO.UKAWARD-WINNING FACILITIES.ALL SERVICES IN-HOUSE.EASY ACCESS. TOP UK HOTELS.SUPERB TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS.

VENUE WATCHwww.exhibitionnews.co.uk 29CeltiC ConneCtionsEN takes a look at five exhibition venues looking to attract more organisers to Scotland with a combination of flexible and new-look spaces, technology, services and supportEdinburgh Corn ExChangE The Edinburgh Corn Exchange (ECE) sees new events at the venue as partnerships, potentially offering reduced rates in the first year or agreeing to hold rates for a three-year period. Its main space, the Exchange, offers 1,400sqm.Sales and marketing manager Amanda Wrathall said the venue hosts a variety of exhibitions, although potentially not as many as a traditional exhibition centre. "We believe this point of difference can attract organisers to us, as a more unique venue," she said.In the last 12 months, ECE has hosted exhibitions for the snow sports industry, social trade sector, careers expos as well as niche events including the Edinburgh Bead Fair and The Scottish Tattoo Convention. The venue also does a lot of business with specialist exhibitors. "There seems to be more small exhibition organisers emerging," Wrathall claimed. "We have been increasingly dealing with individuals who have a particular interest in a field and who decide to use their expertise to start a show or exhibition. "This is creating a new group of exhibition organisers who are full of enthusiasm and energy, yet perhaps don't have the traditional experience of arranging successful exhibitions and shows."Among recent initiatives to improve its profile was the ECE's website relaunch, with more consideration given to how exhibition organisers use the site, as well as the public when trying to find out about possible events to attend, Wrathall said. The venue has also added a ticket purchase option on offer to organisers, allowing for pre-paid web sales via the venue that can include promotional codes and exhibition branding. This is aimed at smaller companies that may not have this facility on their own websites. The Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. The venue is best known for its focus on energy exhibitions, as the local economy is strongly focused on oil production.The venue is home to the annual All-Energy show and in September hosts The World Heavy Oil Congress, which is coming to Europe for the first time. The venue was chosen to help bring an offshore technology dimension to the show's technical programme."The AECC and Aberdeen in general focus very heavily not only on the traditional oil and gas markets, but also on the emerging renewable energy market, which is key to the north-east of Scotland's economy," said the AECC's MD Brian Horbsurgh. "As the national energy exhibition centre, the AECC has a key role to play in bringing educational and varied exhibitions to the area."The AECC consists of The Arena and four large halls. The Arena has 7,320sqm of space, followed by the Boyd Orr (1,496sqm), which can be partitioned into two separate halls, (720sqm and 777sqm respectively), the Gordon Suite (559sqm), Crombie Suite (471sqm) and Forbes Suite (252sqm).The AECC is home to a large variety of exhibitions, ranging from The Skipper Expo for the fishing industry and Subsea UK, to The Scottish Home Show launching in September this year and the annual Your Wedding Exhibition. According to Horbsurgh, the emergence of an increasing number of lifestyle shows throughout the exhibition industry in general has seen the growth of consumer-focused brands throughout the UK.The venue has also picked up a number of awards including Investors in People, Green Tourism Business Scheme Silver Award, Healthy Eating Award and the Northern Star 2011 Sustainability Award. aECC