The NZ International Convention Centre will host gatherings from next February. Photo / Michael Craig
About 3300 specialists and researchers from the anaesthetist and ophthalmologist fields will hold their annual conferences at SkyCity Entertainment Group’s new $1 billion-plus New Zealand International Convention Centre next year.
A SkyCity spokesman said the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists had booked for May and November.
The convention centre between Hobson St and Nelson St is due to hold its first conferences from February, although Fletcher Construction has not yet finished work.
The bookings at SkyCity come as Fletcher slugs through a 14-week trial in the High Court at Auckland, suing waterproofers over liability for the October 2019 fire at the NZICC.
The SkyCity spokesman said about 1500 delegates would attend the anaesthetists’ conference from April 30 to May 5, 2026.
The college has a video on its website promoting the Auckland event at what it calls its annual scientific meeting.
The meeting’s theme is “herenga waka, herenga tāngata: from home to home”.
Professor Dave Story, college president, said the entity was one of the largest specialist medical colleges in Australasia.
The conference would run for six days, offering pre-meeting workshops and international speakers on anaesthesia and pain medicine.
The college is a forum for anaesthetists, pain medicine specialists, researchers and healthcare professionals worldwide to engage in exchanges, discuss advancements and address critical issues in anaesthesia and pain medicine.
Then, ophthalmologists
From November 5 to 9, the ophthalmologists’ annual scientific congress will be held here, bringing around 1800 delegates.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists chief executive Mark Carmichael said that would be the 57th congress.
It had been more than a decade since the event was held in New Zealand and conference-goers were looking forward to Auckland’s vibrancy, Carmichael said.
The event aims to foster collaboration and learning in the latest techniques, research, and advancements in eye care.
NZ International Convention Centre sales and planning director Alana Bicknell said it was a major boost to get two big conferences from major entities like this.
The convention centre had worked with Tourism New Zealand Business Events and the Auckland Convention Bureau, which is a division of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, she said.
In March, the NZICC said it was set to host 15,500 people at nine major conferences in Auckland in the next few years.
The two conferences announced today take that to 18,800 people.
Events now booked for the NZICC are:
New Zealand International Convention Centre by the numbers
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.