Birmingham named UK’s top regional conference destination
Birmingham has made a major leap in industry rankings, emerging as the UK’s top regional destination for meetings, according to global events and hospitality data.
The annual rankings, produced by Cvent, are based on more than $18 billion worth of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) booked through Cvent’s digital platforms.
Birmingham now ranks 21st, up from 24th in 2024, ahead of major European cities including Hamburg, Stockholm and Zurich.
The city has also climbed 87 places in the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Country and City Rankings Report 2024 – the leading global benchmark for destinations based on the number of international events hosted – reaching 125th place, its highest position since 2017.
Having welcomed 20 association meetings – which aligned with ICCA’s criteria of taking place regularly; rotating between a minimum of three countries/territories; and having at least 50 participants – Birmingham is at its highest position in the international standings since 2017.
More than half of the meetings hosted in Birmingham came from European organisations. Nearly 50 per cent of the events taking place in the city were linked to science or medical sciences, which are long-established and world-leading sectors for the West Midlands’ inward investment strategy.
Cllr John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “It is tremendous to see Birmingham continue to receive national and international recognition for something our region has excelled at for many years – hosting and delivering top quality conferences and events for organisers across the world.
“Birmingham is an events city – we have varied venues and passionate people, who consistently put on a great show for delegates and leave a lasting impression.”
Meanwhile, the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) – the organisation responsible for attracting conferences and events into the region via the Birmingham and West Midlands Convention Bureau – recently attended IMEX Frankfurt (19-22 May, Messe Frankfurt).
Together with MeetEngland and stand partner Eastside Rooms, the WMGC team held 10 per cent more pre-booked appointments than the previous edition, adding to a healthy pipeline of business events enquiries.
Members of the Birmingham and West Midlands Convention Bureau will continue to highlight the region’s business events offer at The Meetings Show (25-26 June, ExCeL London) and IBTM World (18-20 November, Fira Barcelona Gran Via, Barcelona).
Katie Trout, director of destination, Marketing & Insight at the West Midlands Growth Company, said:
“The West Midlands’ conference and events sector is big business for the region, generating nearly £2 billion of direct spend for our visitor economy.
“Attending international exhibitions such as IMEX remains the most effective way of sparking new partnerships and creating exciting, fresh opportunities to bring more high-profile meetings here.
“Birmingham and the West Midlands is making an impression internationally. It was heartening for our team in Frankfurt – headed up by our new Business Tourism and events strategic lead Linda Best – to speak to organisers from Australia, Indonesia, Spain and USA, who were particularly interested in our business events and cultural offer.”
Major business events taking place in the region before the end of 2025 include the International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA) (9-13 October, University of Birmingham); the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Annual Meeting (12-15 November, ICC Birmingham); and the first World Screen Tourism Summit (21 November, ICC Birmingham).
