About Liverpool

Congress is being held at the Arena and Conference Centre (ACC) Liverpool for the first time in 2011, and as well as an exciting new venue to discover you may want to take a spare moment to experience some of the city's rich cultural heritage.

You can find out all about the ACC Liverpool by visiting the website.

Discover more about the city with Visit Liverpool's interactive guide.

Why Liverpool?

The logistics of organising RCN Congress are highly complex. As well as value for money, the event demands a 2,000-seat auditorium, 4,000 square feet of exhibition space, capacity to host more than 150 fringe events, plus sufficient ‘back office’ space to accommodate, among other things, a media centre, a crèche and the organisers’ office. There must also be sufficient hotel rooms nearby at an affordable price.

The location has to be chosen at least two years before the event because of the planning involved and the notice required by the venue. In 2008, RCN Council asked the RCN events team to research potential venues. Views gathered as part of the Future Congress consultation also indicated a desire among members for the RCN to consider facilities other than those at Harrogate and Bournemouth. The events team visited conference halls throughout the UK and reported back to Council, pointing out that at that time Liverpool was one of very few venues that matched the RCN’s demanding requirements. Liverpool also offers an exciting new venue for Congress in a city with a great tradition for nursing innovation. As new facilities are always coming on stream, that decision is under regular review.

View our North West photo gallery to get a taste of the area.