The Bournemouth International Centre
Bringing you the best for 80 years
The Bournemouth International Centre was opened on 6th September 1984 as a multipurpose Conference, Entertainment, Exhibition and Leisure Venue.
The Centre originally boasted 2 Auditoria – the Windsor
and Tregonwell Halls – and a multi-storey, 700+ space car park, offering a larger, more modern addition to
Bournemouth's traditional Winter Gardens Concert Hall (now demolished), Pavilion Theatre/Ballroom and the
Pier Theatre.
With the Centre attracting a wide range of International Artistes and large Conventions, Bournemouth Borough Council recognised the need to expand the facilities by adding the circular 1800 sq.m. Purbeck Hall in 1990 at
a further investment of over £6 million.
By the millennium the BIC had firmly established itself as one of the UK's leading venues of its type and with demand far outstripping supply, a massive £22 million expansion and redevelopment programme (co-funded by the South West Regional Development Agency) was agreed in 2003, to provide a 4th auditoria – the 1250 sq.m. Solent Hall (replacing the leisure pool) – and an increased capacity Windsor Hall, making the BIC the largest venue on the South Coast when it reopened in October 2005.
The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom
The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom is Bournemouth's traditional venue for year round entertainment. Built in the 1920s, it retains its splendour and elegant styling and is Bournemouth's regular home for West End stage shows, Opera, Ballet, Pantomime and Comedy as well as for corporate presentations and dinner dances, product launches and small conferences.
Refurbished in 2007, the Pavilion Theatre holds a seated audience of 1012 in fixed seats on a raked floor, with a further 446 in the circle. The Ballroom provides an exquisite backdrop for banquets, receptions, social functions and even small fayres and exhibitions. |