The Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre was a convention, exhibition and entertainment complex in Darling Harbour, Sydney. 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 ...

. 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 predetermine ...

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, ...

judo is an unarmed 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 Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

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, 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 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 Convention and Exhibition Centre demolition 2014

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 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