MICE


Winning ways


Iconic sporting venues and historic attractions are putting Cardiff on the map as an events destination


By RICHARD REES AND ROB GILL


rugby fever grips the city. The Principality Stadium, where Wales’


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rugby union team plays home games, is perhaps the city’s most well-known venue. Rugby is more of a religion than a sport in Cardiff, and fans pretty much take over the city on the weekend of a Six Nations clash. The stadium also hosted last season’s


UEFA Champions League football final between Real Madrid and Juventus when around 170,000 fans flocked to Cardiff for Europe’s biggest club game. The 74,500-capacity ground, originally known as the Millennium Stadium, will


110 BBT March/April 2018


PORTING EVENTS PROBABLY come to mind when you think of the Welsh capital Cardiff – particularly in the spring when


also be in the headlines on 31 March when it hosts the heavyweight boxing bout between Anthony Joshua and New Zealand’s Joseph Parker. Another major sporting event visiting Cardiff this year will be the Volvo Ocean Race offshore sailing race in May and June. Providing the venues for these high-pro-


file international events helps to give Cardiff the kind of publicity that other UK locations can only dream of. The city already welcomes 20 million visitors annu- ally, who spend some £1 billion. Cardiff’s sporting venues also provide a


range of spaces for meetings, conferences and events. The Principality Stadium, for example, has an indoor arena, six lounges and 113 hospitality suites, while smaller sporting venues, such as Cardiff City


Football Club’s stadium and SSE SWALEC cricket ground, also host conferences. Historic options include Cardiff Castle,


where event spaces include an historic banqueting hall that seats up to 100 guests. The castle has also launched a range of corporate team-building packages under the Castle Quest brand. Meanwhile, concert venue St David’s Hall can cater for confer- ences of up to 1,500 delegates.


CULTURE AND SCIENCE One of the biggest draws for MICE planners is the regenerated Cardiff Bay area, with venues including the Wales Millennium Centre, home to the National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera. With its vast metal, wood, glass and slate facade, the Millennium Centre is a striking symbol


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