Brisbane is a city with an eye to the future as Australia’s fastest growing city, fuelled by $19 billion of investment in city transforming infrastructure. As Queensland’s thriving capital, Brisbane was recently acknowledged by TIME magazine as one of the ‘World’s Greatest Places of 2023.’
The city offers a unique mix of culture, lifestyle and business, from arts and dining precincts to unrivalled nature and wildlife experiences, offering a wide choice of attractions and venues for business events. From luxury hotels to natural wonders on its doorstep, Brisbane has something for everyone.
A DYNAMIC CONVENTION PRECINCT
The acclaimed Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre – consistently rated one of the world’s top three convention centres – is surrounded by green spaces, rainforest pockets, swimming lagoons, cafes, bars and restaurants as well as Australia’s largest Gallery of Modern Art, the city’s performing art centre and museums. This outdoor oasis creates an idyllic environment for bespoke events and networking.
A HUB OF INNOVATION
As the home of four world-class universities, more than 100 pioneering health and biotech facilities and a strong business and entrepreneurial ecosystem, Brisbane offers access to global thought leaders and keynote speakers to bring expert knowledge and international networks to locally hosted business events.
CITY TRANSFORMING VENUES
Brisbane is transforming with new five-star venues and exciting event spaces ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Set to open from late 2023, Queen's Wharf Brisbane will transform the city and river’s edge with an iconic design that celebrates the city’s inviting subtropical, open-air lifestyle. The $3.6 billion precinct covers more than 12 hectares of river frontage in the heart of the city and includes a mixture of repurposed heritage listed buildings and integrated resort facilities.
The state-of-the-art Event Centre will be home to Brisbane’s largest hotel ballroom and offer a 20-metre-long bar leading to an outdoor terrace with views to the city’s iconic Story Bridge.
The expansive 2,000sqm light-filled space has been purposely designed to cater for events of every scale and will provide access to four future luxury hotels offering 1000 additional rooms, including The Star Grand, Dorsett and Australia’s only ultra-luxury Rosewood hotel.
A CONNECTED CITY
Brisbane’s accessibility and thriving lifestyle precincts continue to evolve and excite, offering an unparalleled delegate experience.
Exploring the vibrant entertainment and dining precincts nestled along the river is seamless with easy access to parklands, walking tracks and pedestrian bridges enabling delegates to embrace Brisbane’s outdoor lifestyle.
Easily walkable to a diverse selection of meeting venues, Brisbane also offers over 21,000 accommodation rooms. The city has gained 5,000 new hotel rooms over the past six years, many of them five star globally branded properties.
SUSTAINABILITY LEADS
Brisbane is one of the world’s greenest cities, with a strong focus on sustainability. Rated as one of Australia’s top three clean air cities, Brisbane has more Green Star-rated buildings than any Australian city and Brisbane City Council is the largest carbon neutral government organisation in Australia.
In the 2022 Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI), Brisbane achieved an 8.4 per cent increase since entering the index in 2019, with Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) achieving significant improvement in the destination management organisation category. This leap makes Brisbane Australia’s fastest growing sustainable city, recognising the city as a global leader in sustainability.
EASE OF AVIATION ACCESS
Brisbane Airport has the most domestic connections in Australia and an extensive network of international carriers servicing the globe. The 24/7 airport is located just 20 minutes from the city centre, ensuring accessibility and ease of access on arrival. The new parallel runway enables the highest aviation capacity in Australia, with more than 50 million passengers a year forecast by 2040.
NATURE ON THE DOORSTEP
As Australia’s nature capital Brisbane offers World Heritage rainforests, idyllic islands and inspiring mountain peaks all just an hour from the city centre. Delegates can readily access pristine bays full of wildlife – from dolphins to dugongs and sea turtles to migrating whales. Nearby Moreton Island, the world’s third largest sand island, offers eco experiences amidst the natural wonders of golden sand dunes and stunning beaches, offering activities such as snorkelling shipwrecks, sand tobogganing and hand feeding wild dolphins.
BRISBANE SHINES AS A HOST CITY
Brisbane is attracting an ever-increasing number of events, from large scale international conferences to boutique corporate programs, bringing together delegates to soak up the enticing open-air lifestyle and exceptional meeting facilities.
In 2023, the Brisbane business event sector is back in full swing with a full calendar of international conferences descending on Brisbane this year.
Anthony Ryan, CEO of Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA), said the return of international travel was helping the sector rebound.
“We are excited to welcome more international visitors back to Brisbane this year with a high portion of conferences attracting delegates from overseas,” Mr Ryan said.
“Brisbane is a world leader in science, health, technology, agriculture and sustainability which makes our city an attractive destination for the brightest minds in the world to come together.
“In July, Brisbane will host the world’s largest HIV science conference, the 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science.
“Attracting and securing conferences is a key part of the work we do as the city’s Convention Bureau, and with key industry partners such as Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“With an international spotlight on Brisbane, we will continue working closely with our industry partners, suppliers and all levels of government to leverage our city’s unstoppable momentum.”
Brisbane has hosted an impressive array of global business events including the G20 Leaders’ Summit, World Congress on Science and Factual Producers and the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation.
In 2023, Brisbane will welcome delegates attending a diverse range of international business events including:
- World Mining Congress in June - 2,000 delegates
- Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting in June – 900 delegates
- International Symposium on Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 2023 in June – 1,000 delegates
- 12th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in July - 6,000 delegates
- FIP World Congress of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Services in September - 2,500 delegates
For an easy and seamless way to plan your business event, get in touch with the Business Events team at Business Economic Development Agency (BEDA), who’ll provide expert local knowledge and support to ensure your meeting is a success.