Senior buyers tour Manchester’s event venues
MANCHESTER – December 2025 — Legends Global Manchester showcase brought ten senior buyers to the city last week for a full-day tour of its live event and conference venues. The program united AO Arena, New Century and The Bridgewater Hall under one buyer-ready offer. Legends Global designed the experience to show how planners can place both large and small events through one connected team. As demand grows for flexible event models, the showcase focused on scale, access and ease of delivery.
AO Arena opens the programme with scale and access
The day began at AO Arena with a welcome brunch and guided venue tour. Buyers saw how the arena shifts from world-class concerts to large conferences with speed and ease. The space supports up to 10,000 delegates. It also hosts product launches and exhibitions on a 3,000-square-metre arena floor. In addition, the group reviewed hospitality suites, guest flow and production zones. Smaller rooms also allow meetings, dinners and private events. As a result, planners can scale formats without changing venue footprints. This flexibility stood as a core strength of the Legends Global Manchester showcase.
New Century adds heritage and corporate flexibility
From AO Arena, the buyers walked to New Century for lunch and a venue tour. The renovated venue blends historic character with modern event design. The main hall features vintage wood panels, a sprung dance floor and an illuminated ceiling. The space supports up to 700 delegates. It suits conferences, awards and branded experiences. Moreover, the layout allows fast turnaround between formats. This stop showed how heritage spaces can meet today’s technical and corporate needs within the Legends Global Manchester showcase.
The Bridgewater Hall completes the daytime tour
The afternoon continued at The Bridgewater Hall. Buyers explored conference layouts, plenaries, receptions and private hospitality options. Breakout rooms support up to 250 delegates. Large open concourse spaces allow wrap-around exhibitions and sponsor activations. Importantly, planners can build corporate programmes around live performance schedules. This venue showed how business and culture can share one space through careful planning and tight operations.
Love Actually concert delivers a festive finale
The evening began with dinner and drinks in the city centre. Guests then returned to The Bridgewater Hall for a festive performance of Love Actually in Concert. The event closed the day with a seasonal cultural highlight. At the same time, it showed how meetings, networking and entertainment can connect into one delegate journey. The full arc of the day reflected the creative value behind the Legends Global Manchester showcase.
Legends Global explains the joined-up venue model
Amy King, Head of Exhibitions and Live Events for UK Venues at Legends Global, said Manchester remains one of the UK’s most active event cities. She explained that bringing AO Arena, New Century and The Bridgewater Hall under one team gives planners a simple route to market. Organisers can place leadership meetings for 50 or arena-scale conferences for thousands through one contact. She added that the structure removes friction from planning and keeps service levels consistent across all venue sizes.
New appointment supports continuity
Sandra Sagar has joined the team to cover Amy King’s maternity leave for the next twelve months. She brings experience across venue operations, live events and client account management. Her role supports continuity for planners booking across multiple Manchester venues. The appointment strengthens the local team during a period of growing multi-venue demand.
Buyer feedback confirms real event value
Katie Clark, Director of Client Relationships at Fresh, said the showcase delivered new insight even for Manchester-based agencies. She noted that each venue revealed new uses for conferences and brand events. She also highlighted the Love Actually concert as a festive and memorable close to the programme. For buyers, the experience confirmed how one connected programme can unlock multiple venue styles through one relationship.
One brief now unlocks multiple venue types
For planners, the showcase underlined the benefit of a single-brief model. One contract now opens access to arenas, historic halls and performance venues. One contact manages production, catering, technology, accommodation and hospitality. This structure reduces risk, saves time and improves delivery. As a result, planners can focus on content and outcomes rather than logistics. This model now defines the trade value behind the Legends Global Manchester showcase.
National and European reach extends planning options
Beyond Manchester, Legends Global applies the same operating model across the UK and in key European cities. This joined-up structure allows planners to scale programmes across regions without changing partners. By keeping one delivery team across markets, the company supports national and international rollouts with consistent service standards.
The Manchester programme showed how one connected venue group can deliver full delegate journeys at scale. From arena conferences to festive concerts, the experience demonstrated how culture, business and hospitality now combine through the Legends Global Manchester showcase.
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