A great success for the 5th night of the Ambassadors of «Nantes, congress destination»

This evening aims to honor the scientists who dealt with the major 2016 congresses in La Cité. The event is organized in recognition to their contribution to the reputation of the local scientific know-how, the development of the attractiveness of the territory and the influence of Nantes as a prime congress destination.

Hosting congresses strongly contributes to the attractiveness of Nantes but also to significant economic spin-offs for local professionals. This is the reason why La Cité works closely with the scientific community, in order to attract major events every year to the metropolis. These events create wealth while they allow scientists to share their knowledge. Since 2006, La Cité established partnership agreements with leading Nantes research and higher education structures to support the organization of congresses carried out by local scientists.

Fabrice Roussel, Nantes’ Vice-President; Rachel Bocher, Nantes City Councilor and President of the Cité des Congrès and the directors of the major research and higher education structures in Nantes presented the local ambassadors with an honorary trophy. Three awards which were given:

·      The Grand Prix of the year 2016 was awarded to the Journées de Neurologie de Langue Française

·      The International Outreach Prize was awarded to SETAC Europe 26th Annual Meeting (26th congress of the SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY) 

·      The 2016 Cité Coup Cœur Prize was awarded to the International Battery Association Meeting.

La Cité thus consolidates its position among the leading congress centers in France on the professional meetings market with around 150 events hosted in 2016.

However, there is currently a lack of meetings space at La Cité. Johanna Rolland, President of Nantes Métropole, has decided to start the studies for its extension to 2022. In the future, the Cité des Congrès, representing a new generation of technologically advanced equipment, will attract and welcome major professional events, serving the international outreach of Nantes.

Key figures: events from 200 to 4000 participants, 3 auditoriums (450, 800 and 2000 places), 6,000 m² of exhibition space in total, 30 meeting rooms with integrated video projector, up to 2000 people in plenary, up to 3,400 people for the catering, 2 separate entries allowing the holding of several events simultaneously, 75 employees / 46 integrated professions Iso 9001 - Charter DD France Congress - AIPC Quality Standard Or

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