By Ian Swanson

Copyright scotsman

The EICC began trading in September 1995, with Queen Elizabeth II formally opening the venue the following year in July 1996. Over the last three decades, the EICC in Morrison Street has hosted around 5,000 events, including hundreds of UK and international conferences, corporate events, party conferences and Edinburgh Festival shows. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, Malala Yousafzai, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sting are among the many global icons to have appeared at the EICC over the last decade alone. Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron, chair of the EICC board, said: “We are enormously proud of the success achieved for the City of Edinburgh and Scotland since 1995 by all our EICC staff team members. “It is both hard to recall, and arguably harder to envisage Edinburgh without the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, such is its importance to our city as a valued and versatile venue of international standing with a worldwide reputation for service excellence in an increasingly challenging global market.” The EICC’s Atrium and Lennox Suite, which doubled the centre’s capacity, were opened in 2013, and to date, over 2 million delegates have attended events there. The TED Global Conference has taken place three times at the EICC, as well as TEDSummit, most recently in 2019, when over 1,000 delegates gathered in Edinburgh, with thousands more joining online. The EICC closed its doors in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, and in February 2021 became Edinburgh’s main vaccination centre, delivering over 250,000 vaccinations. But the venue has made a strong recovery from Covid and reported record revenue in 2024. Council leader Jane Meagher said: “As we mark the 30th anniversary of the EICC, its position as Scotland’s leading venue for business tourism has never been stronger. “The EICC plays a significant role in Edinburgh’s success and world-renowned reputation as a visitor destination. With ongoing support from the council, it generates hundreds of millions of pounds for the local economy, creating and sustaining hundreds of jobs for Edinburgh residents and attracting delegates from across the world. “Looking ahead, I have every confidence that the next 30 years will be just as transformative. In an increasingly competitive and fast-evolving market, it continues to stand out, successfully attracting world-class conferences, speakers, and organisations to Edinburgh.” Ed