ACC Liverpool has become the first venue in England to create a legacy toolkit for event organisers.
The waterfront venue is encouraging planners to consider more long-term positive impacts and outcomes for events taking place in the city.
It has launched the toolkit to build knowledge around legacy and drive stronger engagement between organisers, venues, local communities and stakeholders. For example, the team can connect clients to local ‘Legacy Champions’ from a wide range of specialisms, particularly through the city’s ambassador network – Club Liverpool – to align with their own organisation and event objectives.
Adrian Evans, director of conference and exhibition sales, said: “From our own research, we’ve found that event organisers often want to leave a legacy following their event here at our venue but aren’t always sure where to start.
“We can provide the necessary links between event organisers and our local stakeholder groups who can support and help to implement plans.
“These can be wide-ranging, for example public health, education or sustainability. Our role as a venue is to suggest, support and facilitate legacy elements.”
ACC Liverpool works closely with city partners to help event organisers to drive engagement and create profile, social activity and investment opportunities.
Chris Brown, director of Marketing Liverpool, said: “We have witnessed the impact major events have on Liverpool City Region, and we have also seen the impact their absence had on our city during the pandemic. Events like Capital of Culture, Vitality Netball World Cup and Labour Party Conference have been catalysts for major regeneration and social transformation within the city.
“There should be a joint responsibility between the event organisers and destinations to identify and develop bespoke legacy and impact strategies.
“There are a number of ways that we can achieve this but one is the utilisation of our really strong ambassador network of academics and professionals who volunteer their time to help bid for conferences to bring economic growth and value to Liverpool City Region and can support with expertise and legacy.”
The Toolkit suggests how clients could think about how their event could leave a legacy which aligns with their own mission as well as Liverpool’s priorities for social and economic development – for example filling a gap in the community, how to turn this into actionable and achievable objectives and identifying potential outcomes.
Diabetes UK has held its annual conference at ACC Liverpool three times and will return in April. During its event in March 2019, the charity unveiled the initial findings of the ground-breaking DiRECT (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial) study, which showed that a low-calorie weight loss programme can help some people put their type 2 diabetes into remission. The study has since inspired the NHS’ low-calorie diet programme. An Insider event was also held in the venue the day after conference ended, aimed at adults living with the condition or the parents of children with diabetes offering the opportunity to connect with the wider diabetes community across the North West and further afield. This year, Diabetes UK will continue working with ACC Liverpool, to raise awareness of the condition across the city and beyond.
Clare Howarth, head of the north of England at Diabetes UK, said: “We’re delighted to be returning for the fourth time to ACC Liverpool for our annual Diabetes UK Professional Conference. This year, following our conference, we’ll also be working alongside ACC Liverpool as we embark on a series of initiatives to help increase awareness and understanding of the condition. This opportunity will help us to reach more people across the Liverpool City Region and beyond to highlight the realities of living with diabetes and its impact on our communities across the north of England, supporting us in our aim of creating a world where diabetes can do no harm.”
Evans added: “Our campus is set to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May with legacy a really important part of the event but it will go beyond the obvious economic benefits that will be generated for the region.
“A key focus will be the benefits of music and live entertainment to mental health, we will support the BBC Eurovision team and Liverpool City Council who are making sure that the event is as accessible as possible for hard-to-reach communities and local schools and colleges, and working with our Ukrainian partners and sister city Odessa to ensure their culture and heritage is embedded throughout the event.
“The possibilities of legacy following such a huge event are endless and similar objectives can be applied to a range of conferences, illustrating how we can facilitate our stakeholder groups to collaborate and make things happen.
“Our focus through the toolkit and ‘legacy champions’ is to strengthen relationships between organisers, destinations and local communities.”
For more information and to access the toolkit click here.