International Exhibition Centre

Impressive by any standards, the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre located a short drive from downtown Manama is one of the best equipped facilities of its kind in the Middle East. The General Manager, Ahmed Al Shamlan, explains the centre's success:

"We have mounted an extensive promotional campaign including visits to the UK and the Far East; we offer organizers very competitive rates in a superbly equipped building and we have a policy of protecting our client's interests by not permitting more than one exhibition covering the same subject."

The Centre offers 8000 square metres of column-free internal floor space in the main hall. There are comprehensive under-floor services and 10,000 square metres of external space. Parking for 800 vehicles is offered to exhibitors. Complementing these facilities are a fully-equipped Conference Suite, two large meeting rooms and eight hospitality suites.

State of the art communications, a well-developed infrastructure and Bahrain's location at the heart of a substantial commercial, trade and tourism hub make the Exhibition Centre an attractive venue. As Mr. Al Shamlan points out, "No Middle Eastern city is more than two hours' away by air and the heavily populated and industrialized eastern province of Saudi Arabia is a 40-minute drive across the causeway."

In addition, there is a wide choice of excellent four and five star hotels in the vicinity plus a modern international airport served by 35 airlines flying to 70 destinations worldwide.

A complete range of facilities within the centre provides services to both visitors and exhibitors. A restaurant, bank, post office, telecommunications centre, business centre, airline office, photographer, official contractor, first aid room, tourism bureau, document/visa clearing services office, "sundries" shop, television and video hire centre and a branch of the Bahrain Marketing and Promotions Office are open to the public during the Exhibition Centre hours.

Among the exhibitions of international stature attracting participants from as many as 20 or more different countries are the Middle East Oil Show and Conference, The Middle East Food, Hotel and Catering Exhibition, the Middle East Communications Show and Conference (all biennial) and the Arabian Jewellery Exhibition (annual).

Mr. Al Shamlan attributes the success of the Centre to its "open door" policy. He is especially pleased to note the development of a wide range of specialist exhibitions now being held on a regular basis. This, he asserts, is a sure sign of the maturing of the Centre and of exhibition activity in Bahrain.

In addition, Bahrain's first purpose built conference centre was completed in 1994 and is an important business attraction. It is an ideal complement to the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre for trade and consumer exhibitions. Major social, trade and civic events are staged as are indoor sporting events ranging from football to tennis.