- Fri 18 Jul 2008 – BIC is the Only English Resort Venue to Make Finals of the World’s Best Congress Centre Award – Up against international city venues, the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) was the only English resort venue to make the finals of the 2008 International Association of Congress Centre’s (AIPC) Apex Award for World’s Best Congress Centre.
- Tue 08 Jul 2008 – Bournemouth Hotels Voted Best Value in the World – Bournemouth hotels have been voted the best value hotels in the world, by a survey of guests who use website hotel.info.
- Thu 03 Jul 2008 – Come and Tour Behind the Scenes the BIC and Pavilion – The Bournemouth International Centre and Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom are going to be open to the public, for behind the scenes tours, every Friday from July to September this year.
- Wed 25 Jun 2008 – Busy Times Ahead for the BIC – The Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) has a busy couple of weeks ahead what with hosting the Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards (TSI) Conference and Exhibition and welcoming back the Local Government Association (LGA) for the ninth time!
- Tue 17 Jun 2008 – BIC has Just the Ticket! – The Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) has launched an innovative parking scheme that offers visitors a guaranteed parking space in the BIC multi-storey car park, as its website sees major growth in ticket sales!
- Thu 05 Jun 2008 – New Marketing Face at the BIC and Pavilion – There is a new face in the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) and Pavilion Theatre’s Conferences and Exhibitions team.
- Fri 18 Apr 2008 – Ideal Home Exhibition Touches Down in Bournemouth – Bournemouth will be all action from Thursday 28th until Sunday 31st August as the popular Ideal Home Exhibition lands at the Bournemouth International Centre, on the same weekend as the new Bournemouth Airshow.
- Thu 21 Feb 2008 – BIC Bride of the Year – Hundreds of brides-to-be recently attended the successful Wedding Show at the BIC which saw Rachel Bunce from Salisbury scoop the Bride of the Year title
Family friendly redesign of Pavilion project
THE proposed development adjacent to Bournemouth Pavilion has been made more family friendly with a 16 per cent reduction in the size of the casino.
The project, approved by Bournemouth Council before May’s elections, has been modified following negotiations with the new Conservative administration and the Trevor Osborne Property Group.
New plans drawn up for the North Bath Road Car Park have brought a significant reduction in the floor area of the casino. The area devoted to gambling has been reduced. They’ve also introduced rooftop walkways and new outdoor terraces.
Leader of the Council Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin said: "We are making progress in our negotiations with the Trevor Osborne Property Group. Their proposed changes are more in line with residents’ desires for family-friendly attractions in Bournemouth."
The planned casino for the ground floor now covers 38,093 sq ft, of which 14,900 sq ft will be gaming area.
Trevor Osborne said: “Public attention on our proposals has been focused on the casino, but this is now primarily a family-friendly, leisure project.
As a result of the very detailed negotiations with Bournemouth Council, we have been able to reduce the size of the casino. It now forms a very small percentage of the overall development. The emphasis has changed to providing Bournemouth with a variety of new quality restaurants, retail outlets and gardens, and in renovating the historic Pavilion.
The Pavilion scheme will become a magnet to tourists and Bournemouth residents and something of which the town can be proud Our proposals will boost the towns cultural and entertainment offer so that Pavilion’s once glamorous image is restored."
The project now features more outside performance space, an ‘interval court’ adjoining the Pavilion and a stunning roof park with sea views. Further aspects remain in negotiation which the Council and the Developer expect to announce before the year end.
As a condition of the redevelopment, TOPG has agreed to allocate a minimum of £13million to restoring Bournemouth Pavilion to its original 1920s grandeur whilst improving the infrastructure, which is much needed to improve the acoustics and audience comfort.