The Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Canada, is highlighting both its past and its future this year. The conference center, which has 150,000 square feet of meeting and event space, celebrated 35 years in business with a public birthday party and a blogged timeline of past highlights, including visits from Princess Diana and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, hosting its first rock show, a performance by Tina Turner, and multiple awards for architecture and environmental accomplishments.
This summer, the Shaw was also the recipient of the Venue Excellence Award from the International Association of Venue Managers, recognizing the conference center as one of the top five public assembly venues in North America. The energy-efficient facility is built into a hillside overlooking the North Saskatchewan River in downtown Edmonton, which is also inside North America’s largest urban parkland. The LEED Gold certified building hosts 650 meetings and events and 500,000 guests every year.
In 2018, the facility continues its tradition of innovation with the introduction of an immersive virtual reality app allowing meeting planners to tour the 80,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, 20 general-session and breakout rooms, and the 23,000-square-foot Hall D which features floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river. The Shaw Conference Centre app is available in the Apple and Google Play stores, and 360˚ video tour is available here. The conference center is located 30 minutes from Edmonton International Airport.
