SANDS EXPO AND CONVENTION CENTRE
The purpose-built convention centre at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort (IR) offers one of the region’s biggest and most flexible spaces. The total area of 120,000 sqm is spread across five floors and can hold up to 45,000 delegates. There are 250 meeting rooms and space for up to 2,000 exhibition booths.
The grand ballroom, at over 8,000 sqm, is the largest in the region. It seats up to 11,000 people for a theatre-style conference and 6,600 people for a banquet. The ballroom can be configured into 16 rooms to hold smaller groups of a few hundred people.
MBS is strategically situated at the heart of the new Marina Bay precinct. It is a 20-minute drive from Changi Airport. Not only is it convenient, but MBS also operates its own hotel in the IR – three 55-storey towers comprising 2,560 rooms and suites. The five deluxe hotels in Marina Square are within 15 minutes’ walk via the attractive Helix Bridge.
The first trade shows held at this new facility include Great Eastern Life Assurance conference, Glasstech Asia 2010 and Hospital Build Asia 2010 by organiser IIR Exhibitions, which has more shows lined up there.
www.marinabaysands.com
RESORTS WORLD CONVENTION CENTRE
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has a purpose-built convention centre with 27,820 sqm of meeting space. It is spread over three formal locations that can take up to 12,000 delegates.
At 6,000 sqm, Compass Ballroom is one of the biggest pillarless ballrooms in Southeast Asia, which seats up to 7,300 delegates theatre style and 5,500 for banquets. It can be divided into three smaller ballrooms or nine rooms for breakout sessions, or small conferences.
There are 26 function rooms with flexible configurations that can seat anywhere from 20 to 700 people, with total seating capacity exceeding 3,000 people. Many of the function rooms have terrace or harbour views, and there are seven supporting rooms for VIPs, speakers and secretariat.
From Changi Airport it takes about 25 minutes by expressway to reach Sentosa Gateway, with a direct road link to RWS. Accommodation options in the IR itself include Hard Rock Hotel, which is directly above the convention centre, Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel and Crockfords Tower. Two more hotels will open next year, bringing the total capacity to 1,830 rooms.
LIVE! Singapore, the inaugural performing arts conference with trade fair and numerous performances was held here, along with many corporate and institutional meetings, dinners and other events.
www.rwsentosa.com
SINGAPORE EXPO
Expo’s 100,000 sqm of multipurpose indoor space comprises 10 convention-cum-exhibition halls, 10 conference halls, nine meeting rooms and six mobile conference rooms.
Mostly associated with exhibitions, such as trade shows, the six halls can be fully deployed for large events with four more halls available across the road to increase capacity. More conferences and corporate meetings are now being held at Singapore Expo, with attendance ranging from 90 to 1,000 people.
Other configurations include tiered theatre-style seating for a mega convention and a gala banquet for 8,500 guests. On Level 2 there are six combined conference halls that provide space for 1,000 delegates. Near Halls 2 and 3 are four other conference halls that can be used for meetings, seminars or workshops.
Singapore Expo is five minutes from Changi Airport by car or train, and 15 minutes from the CBD.
In terms of hotels, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport is the closest to Expo, with two other hotels less than 15 minutes’ drive away. Several city hotels are participants in the Singex Trusted Partner Programme.
Recent events held at Expo include Food&HotelAsia, Defence Technology Asia, Herbalife Asia Pacific Extravaganza, 3rd World Cancer Congress, Asia Investment Banking Conference 2010 and numerous corporate and government agency meetings.
www.singaporeexpo.com.sg
SUNTEC SINGAPORE
Spanning 100,000 sqm of versatile floor space, Suntec Singapore can accommodate events for 10 to 20,000 people.
Its six-storey structure enables the entire complex to host a huge congress or exhibition, or several separate, small corporate and association meetings on levels two and three, and bigger exhibitions or conventions running concurrently on levels four and six.
The column-free convention hall seats 12,000 delegates theatre style or offers space for a 10,600 sqm exhibition. Meanwhile, the 12,000 sqm exhibition hall divides into four sections. The Gallery can seat 3,000 delegates or 1,000 people banquet style and can be subdivided into two areas.
Some 1,800 delegates or 1,100 diners can be seated in the ballroom. It can be sub-divided further into three smaller function rooms. Other facilities include a 596-seat theatre, 31 meeting rooms for up to 400 people and a 930 sqm concourse.
Suntec Singapore is located in the downtown Marina Square area, a 20-minute drive from Changi Airport.
There are 5,200 guestrooms across five deluxe hotels directly linked to the convention centre. Seven mid- to upscale hotels are within 10 minutes’ walking distance.
The International Conference on Emergency Medicine 2010, Interphex Asia, Singapore International Water Week and World Cities Summit were recently held here.
www.suntecsingapore.com