The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in
Darling Harbour,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Designed by
Philip Cox, the complex opened in 1988 as part of an urban renewal and redevelopment of the Darling Harbour area during the period. The complex was eventually demolished in 2013 to make way for the
International Convention Centre.
History
Built by
Leighton Contractors
CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an Australian construction contractor. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries ...
, the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre (SC&EC) opened in 1988, with a new section of the centre added for the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
. During those games, the venue played host to the
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
,
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
,
weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...
, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
competitions. The building was owned by the
Government of New South Wales
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
, with the centre administration and business run initially by a company Called Arena Meetings Conventions and Exhibitions, which at the time also operated the Sydney Entertainment centre since the date of its opening. They were awarded the contract to commission and operate the site for the first 5 years of its operations. The
Accor Hotel Group subsequently gained the second 5-year term on a competitive bid basis. The SC&EC was used as a
conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
and
convention venue and to hold
exhibitions
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...
, as well as hosting various smaller events such as weddings and meetings. The Convention Centre had around 30 rooms, ranging from small meeting rooms to a 3,500 capacity auditorium, as well as foyer areas and other spaces which can be adapted for use as an exhibition space or pre-dinner function venue. The Exhibition Centre consisted of initially five primary halls, and was subsequently expanded to 6 and was used primarily for exhibitions, but also for gala dinners and other large-scale events.
The SC&EC was used as the biggest building venue for the
Sydney Olympic Games
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
outside of
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
.
The SC&EC was a key meeting venue of
APEC Australia 2007
APEC Australia 2007 was a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2007. Various meetings were held across Australia from January to August 2007, with the ev ...
in September, 2007 when the political leaders of the 21 member states of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. met. The venue was host to the Business Leader's Summit held in conjunction with APEC Leader's Week. In 2013 it was demolished to make way for the
International Convention Centre Sydney
The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) is an exhibition and convention centre which opened in December 2016, in Sydney, Australia. ICC Sydney is Australia's second largest fully integrated convention, exhibition and entertain ...
.
Architecture award
The 1989
Australian Institute of Architects Sir John Sulman Medal
The Sir John Sulman Medal is an architectural prize presented by the New South Wales chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects since 1932. The medal is sometimes referred to as the Sulman Award and now recognises excellence in public a ...
for Public Architecture was jointly awarded to
Philip Cox Richardson Taylor Partners for the SC&EC. The design team was also presented with the 2007 Excellence in Construction Award by the Master Builders Association; were finalists in the 1988 World Quaternario Award; and received a Commendation in Building and Civil Design at the 1988 National Engineering Excellence Awards.
Criticism of demolition
Architects
John Andrews and Philip Cox spoke out over the demolition of the convention and exhibition buildings completed in 1988, blasting the demolition plans as "rather stupid".
Transport
The
Sydney Monorail and
Inner West Light Rail
The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It is the original line of the Sydney light rail network ...
provided public transport to the centre. The monorail opened in 1988 and shut down in 2013. The light rail opened in 1997. The Convention and Exhibition Centre stations are named after the SC&EC.
References
External links
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
{{Authority control
Badminton venues
Badminton in Australia
Boxing venues in Australia
Buildings and structures awarded the Sir John Sulman Medal
Buildings and structures demolished in 2014
Buildings and structures in Sydney
Commercial buildings completed in 1988
Convention centres in Australia
Event venues established in 1988
Olympic boxing venues
Olympic fencing venues
Olympic International Broadcast Centres
Olympic judo venues
Olympic weightlifting venues
Olympic wrestling venues
Philip Cox buildings
Venues of the 2000 Summer Olympics
1988 establishments in Australia
2013 disestablishments in Australia