The venue also generated an impressive economic impact of £78m for Edinburgh and the surrounding region, up from £58m the previous year, bringing its total contribution to approximately £930m since opening in 1995.

Despite a highly competitive global market, the EICC hosted 164 events in 2024, welcoming over 79,000 delegates – a 4% increase on the previous year. Delegate days saw a substantial rise to around 180,000 from approximately 146,000 in 2023, driven by multi-day conferences with increased attendance.

Lezley Marion Cameron, EICC board chair, praised the “determination, resilience, and resolve” of CEO Marshall Dallas and the EICC team, attributing the success to their leadership and strategic initiatives by the sales team. She stated: “The EICC board is therefore delighted to report another year of increased revenue and economic impact for Edinburgh.”

Mr Dallas, who is stepping down after a decade as CEO, said: “Our focus has always been to position the EICC as one of the world’s leading and most sustainable conference centres, with a mission to inspire ideas that change the world.”

He highlighted that while the number of events was moderately down, the increase in delegate days was the “key metric”.

Major events contributing to the successful year included the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association Investment Conference, the International Electrotechnical General Meeting, and the 36th International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) Conference. Mr Dallas noted that UK and international association conference business remains core, alongside a continued diversification of events.

As the EICC prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Ms Cameron acknowledged Mr Dallas’s transformative impact on the venue’s financial stability and performance. The search for a new CEO is reportedly well underway.