Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre holds first conference

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has officially welcomed its first conference, kick starting a full roster of more than 100 events scheduled for the remainder of the year.

The inaugural conference was the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga Looking Ahead Symposium, during which Te Waihanga launched its Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2052.

Te Pae Christchurch general manager Ross Steele said the Te Pae Christchurch team had been eagerly awaiting this day.

“It’s wonderful to see the Centre busy and operating as it is meant to be – filled with people connecting face-to-face, sharing knowledge and ideas and engaging in conversations that will have a real impact on our collective future,” he said.

“I could not think of a better way to open our convention account than with the launch of a strategy that will help build a thriving Aotearoa.

“Te Pae Christchurch itself is a crown infrastructure project built to provide economic value to New Zealand and to Ōtautahi Christchurch and with 60 conventions between now and December, along with many other events, we’re excited to get to work and make a difference to our city.”

Of the events planned at Te Pae Christchurch for the remainder of 2022, more than 60 are conferences, including eight international events.

Combined, they will bring over 67,000 people into the central city, and generate an estimated $37.2 million in direct economic value.

A mix of business and public events, the scheduled events in 2022 include:

• Harcourts National Convention, May
• New Zealand Dance Awards, May
• Christchurch Art Show 2022, June
• MEETINGS 2022, June
• Roofing Association of New Zealand Conference, June
• Bookeepcon 2022, July
• House of the Year Awards, July
• Maia Health Foundation FEAST 2022, September
• Archipro – Meet, Greet & Eat 2022, September
• Armageddon Expo, December

Steele said looking beyond the end of 2022, the Centre had a solid pipeline of business moving forward.

“In total, through to October 2024, we have 146 events scheduled, which will bring close to 150,000 people into our city and generate more than $74m in direct economic value. This includes 88 conferences, 23 of which are international.”