Marina Bay Sands secures 370 deals for convention center

Sands Expo & Convention Center has held 150 events at since its opening.

Marina Bay Sands has sealed nearly 370 deals which will bring over 345,000 participants to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, demonstrating its ability to draw both marquee events and smaller intimate meetings, conferences and weddings.

In fact, nearly 150 events have been successfully concluded, drawing a crowd of 100,000 participants to Sands Expo and Convention Center, the biggest meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) facility in Singapore, over a short period of four months, according to a Marina Bay Sands report.

“Marina Bay Sands has completed quite a number of noteworthy events in the last 120 days since we opened in late April. Most recently, the Sands Expo and Convention Center was used as the Youth Olympic Games‟ media center where our teams worked around the clock to surpass the expectations of our guests,” said Marina Bay Sands President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Thomas Arasi.

Upcoming events include new trade shows such as Art Stage Singapore 2011 and 2012; Dye + Chem Asia International Expo 2010 and 2012 and Offshore Asia 2011. Other marquee events include Pavilion of Art & Design 2011 (PAD Singapore 2011), which aims to replicate the success of its sister shows PAD Paris and PAD London, both must-sees in the international art diary.

Marina Bay Sands is also the venue of Cruise Shipping Asia 2011 – another new show for Singapore. The fair is organized by UBM Asia, whose parent company is behind the annual Cruise Shipping Miami, the world‟s largest international trade show for the cruise industry.

Mr. Michael Duck, Senior Vice President of UBM Asia, said: “It has been over 10 years since we last organized a cruise event in Singapore. We firmly believe that the Asian market is now primed for tremendous growth. Marina Bay Sands‟ under-one-roof concept and waterfront location near the new Cruise Terminal provides the perfect venue for us to return to Singapore to debut this event.”

Added Mr. Arasi: “Right from the beginning, we pledged to bring new shows to Singapore. PAD Singapore 2011 and Cruise Shipping Asia 2011 are great examples of how trade show organizers are looking at Singapore with renewed interest. Because of our scale and flexibility, Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center is opening up a whole new realm of possibilities for the organizers and delegates of world-class events.”

Exhibition organizer IIR Exhibitions has given a vote of confidence by choosing Marina Bay Sands for three events – Hospital Build Asia 2010, Aesthetics Asia 2010 and PSA/HVAC Asia 2010. “Our established life sciences fairs this year are going to be held at Marina Bay Sands. This decision is made after considering the capabilities of Sands Expo and Convention Center, and the after-work leisure options available in this amazing new destination. Marina Bay Sands is a prestigious new venue and one that we think our delegates from all around the world will look forward to,” said Mr. Andrew Keable, Divisional Director, Life Sciences, IIR Asia Pacific.

With a total area of 120,000 sqm spread across five floors, Sands Expo and Convention enter offers both scale and flexibility, ideally suited to a multitude of configuration options. Capable of hosting up to 45,000 convention delegates in total, the space can hold up to 2,000 exhibition booths and 250 meeting rooms. Its facilities are ideally suited to smoothly handle events of any size, whether it's an intimate meeting for 10 persons or a grand lavish theater-style presentation for 11,000 persons in the Grand Ballroom.

The dynamic nature of the space, combined with a bright and airy design that includes an outdoor cocktail area on the 4th floor, opens up endless options for organizers to create memorable events. In addition, the Sands Expo and Convention Center is also supported by a massive 2,833 sqm kitchen that is dedicated to deliver over 100 menus that appeal to a diverse range of palates and budgets.

Marina Bay Sands will continue to add to the allure of Singapore as an attractive MICE venue that has already won many accolades. Most recently, Singapore clinched the title of “Top International Meetings City‟ in the Union of International Associations‟ (UIA) 2009 global rankings for the third consecutive year.

The team behind Sands Expo and Convention Centre is expanding and working on more than 500 additional prospects for exhibitions, meetings, incentives and conventions.