This year's AIPC Apex Award will be one of the most hotly contested ever, with 27 finalists vying for the recognition as "World's Best Congress Centre".
With all preliminary analyses now complete, these 27 have emerged from an overall field of 36 entrants, up some 30% over the previous competition in 2008.
"These are competitive times in the industry, and a record number of centres have seen the AIPC Apex Award as a way to distinguish themselves", says AIPC President Edgar Hirt.
"Our members also understand that regardless of whether or not they win, their participation guarantees them a highly organized assessment of their centre's performance as seen through the eyes of their international clients, which is a huge benefit in itself".
Finalists have been selected on their having met all competition criteria, including identifying a sufficient number of client evaluators to meet the requirements for the competition.
The winner will be selected on the basis of how well identified clients rate each centre in terms of a variety of criteria that related to centres performance.
"This year we also had a higher average number of client references per participant, which means that the assessments going into the Award are more rigorous than ever", said Hirt.
The 27 finalists for 2010 are:
Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, Adelaide Convention Centre, Congress Center Basel, Belfast Waterfront, Bregenzer Festspiel- und Kongresshaus Gmbh, Brighton Centre, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Cairns Convention Centre, Cape Town International Convention Centre, Darwin Convention Centre, International Convention Center Durban, Messe Congress Graz, Congress und Messe Innsbruck, International Convention Center Jerusalem, Kyoto International Conference Center, Lisboa Congress Centre, m:con - Congress Center Rosengarten, Le Corum Congress Center, Palais des congres de Montreaal, Nantes International Convention Centre, Kursaal Centre, Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Congress Centre-Sofia, National Palace of Culture, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre , Tampere Hall, Valencia Conference Centre, Hofburg Vienna
The AIPC Apex Award is made bi-annually on the basis of an independent "blind" evaluation process to ensure an objective analysis of evaluation criteria. These criteria address a series of factors including congress facilities, project management, catering and technical capabilities, and result in a collective score that represents the best overall performer.
The 2010 AIPC Apex Award winner will be announced at this year's AIPC Annual Conference in Liverpool.
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