Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp open for business

The Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp had its grand opening on 19 April. The FMCCA is conveniently located in the heart of the city, in the award winning 19^th Century Antwerp ZOO. The venue can accommodate up to 2,700 participants, with over 25,000m² of meeting rooms and presenting a host of unique experiences. Meeting rooms like the Marble Hall & Verlat Hall are a living, breathing historic monument, and part of one of the world’s founding zoos, complete with Belle Epoque decorations and classified monuments. The FMCCA joins traditional high-quality services and modern facilities which turn it into a perfect and fascinating meeting and convention centre. The FMCCA aims to be a low-environmental-impact, sustainable and low-energy-consumption venue equipped with all modern technology and amenities.

CSR and sustainability

The Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp lies in the centre of the Antwerp ZOO, a part of the ZOO Foundation, a place of animal welfare, nature conservation and science. A place from which the FMCCA derives its huge and quite remarkable social relevance and anchoring. Anja Stas, Chief Commercial Officer FMCCA: “Every cent spent at our conference centre is managed by the ZOO Foundation and directly contributes to our efforts in the field of animal welfare, heritage, breeding programmes, research and nature conservation. All of this is aimed at the welfare and survival of our zoological friends.” Protection of threatened species and research on fundamental nature conservation is part of our DNA as a founding partner of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). Scientists are convinced of nature’s role in our overall feeling of happiness. Nature nurtures the soul, inspires and connects. After an intensive meeting at the FMCCA you walk into the zoo to savour the sight of lions, giraffes and flamingos.

Vast capacity

The Queen Elisabeth Hall is an auditorium-style 25,000m² concert hall with 2,020 seats,  perfect acoustics and sound resonance; it is without a doubt the showpiece of the FMCCA. The Atrium, a large and light-flooded hall with a capacity of 1,900 people, where authenticity meets modernism, is the largest meeting room of the new convention centre. The Atrium can also be split up into 6 different areas. The 2,100m² space is the ideal location to register and welcome participants, as well as to set up expositions and exhibitions. The Historic Wing is made up of 12 rooms, featuring a whole range of marble varieties, high ceilings and Art Nouveau architecture. Each hall has its own distinctive feature, for example, the Darwin Hall contains an impressive skeleton of a Baleen whale, while the Winter Garden is a late 19th-century architectural gem of glass and steel providing a tropical illusion where you can walk among hundreds of butterflies during the spring and summer. The historic halls are the ideal setting for any event. The Carnot Wing features 8 modern rooms, all with an executive feel of luxury. Anja Stas: “Combining history with the very latest technology, in a city often described as small but with a larger-than-life attitude for culture and business, this brand new centre is set within one of the founding zoos in the world. With meeting and conference rooms in historic surroundings and premises that will provide a truly unique atmosphere and creativity to meetings and events – we have a living and breathing historic monument now accessible to the world of meetings and events.”

Unique location

The unique location, right in the centre of Antwerp and next to the Central Station, gives organisers of conventions and music performances a very attractive home base. The FMCCA is connected directly to the rest of Europe with high-speed rail links. Take the Thalys train straight into Antwerp Central Station, sometimes referred to as the cathedral of railway stations, and simply stroll over to the FMCCA. Brussels & Antwerp International Airports are also within a 30-minute drive (44km/27.7 miles) with over 300 international flights per day, serving 200 destinations with direct flights. “You can actually organise a conference anywhere in the world", says Flemish tourism minister Ben Weyts. “But only in Flanders, you can enjoy such beautiful setting and delicious dining culture after your conference activities. With fantastic convention infrastructure like the FMCCA we can definitely encourage many more business tourists to visit Flanders. It is a nice extra that this audience is spending significantly more money during a stay than other tourists. So the whole economy will definitely benefit.”