The International Convention Centre (ICC) is in the Westside area of central Birmingham.

The main entrance is on Centenary Square, there is a long frontage on Broad Street, and a second entrance by the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal.

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The largest venues are Hall 3 which holds 3,000 theatre-style and Symphony Hall which holds 2,200.

These two halls occupy the eastern half of the atrium, nearest the main entrance on Centenary Square. They stand either side of the Mall which is flanked by Halls 1, 4 and 8 which seat 1,500, 825 and 300 (theatre style) respectively.

The remaining six halls are concentrated in the south-west corner of the atrium, nearest the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal: Halls 5, 6, and 7 seat 300, 120 and 135 (theatre-style) respectively, and Halls 9, 10 and 11 seat 285, 205 and 345 (theatre-style) respectively.

The Mall contains a registration area, a business centre, a box office for Symphony Hall, a Strada restaurant, a cafe, art gallery and newsagent/confectioners. It is connected by an elevated covered walkway to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the opposite side of Broad Street.

Symphony Hall is a 2,260-seat concert hall at the International Convention Centre.

It is generally recognised as a world-class venue with a similar standing to the Musikverein in Vienna and the Concertgeobouw in Amsterdam.

The hall contains a 6,000-pipe symphony organ, the largest in the UK; its acoustics can be adjusted by dampening panels, reverse fan walls, a canopy and U-shaped reverberation chamber.

The hall is protected from external noise by a double skin of concrete; low-speed ducts eliminate ventilation noise and the foundations are mounted on rubber cushions in order to exclude external vibration, particularly that caused by high-speed trains on the West Coast Mainline which runs through a tunnel barely 30 metres from the stage.

Symphony Hall is the home stage of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel is connected to the International Convention Centre by a private covered walkway above Broad Street. The construction of the hotel was subsidised by Birmingham City Council so that the ICC could stage events such as the G8 Summit in 1998 and the NATO Meeting of Defence Ministers in 2000.

The 24-storey hotel has a distinctive blue-mirror facade and contains 319 bedrooms and suites, a spa, fitness club, swimming pool, cocktail bar (open until 2am), restaurant and 8 meeting rooms, the largest with function space of roughly 225 square metres.

There are 30 other hotels within 1 kilometre of the ICC including budget rooms at the Travelodge and Premier Inn. Please consult our hotel guide for more information.

Two footbridges at the rear of the ICC lead to Waters Edge: a wharf on the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal with bars, restaurants, shops and art galleries.

Pedestrians may walk 100 metres along the canal to the National Sealife Centre/National Indoor Arena in one direction or cross under Broad Street and walk 300 metres to the bars, restaurants, boutiques, galleries and BBC studios at the Mailbox in the other direction.

The ICC has a long frontage on Broad Street which is known as the "Golden Mile" because of its numerous pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Please consult our guide to Westside in central Birmingham for more information about the immediate area around the ICC.

There is a Sainsbury's Local at Brindleyplace, near the National Sealife Centre and barely 100 metres from the canalside entrance to the ICC.

There is also a row of shops including Baguette du Monde, Boots and Spar at Brunswick Arcade in Brindleyplace, barely 200 metres from the canalside entrance to the ICC.

The most convenient bars are probably on the wharf (Waters Edge) by the canalside entrance to the ICC; these include the Slug & Lettuce, Pitcher & Piano and All Bar One.

Please consult our pub, restaurant and nightclub guides for more information.

Cabs may also be booked on 08000 96 96 14.

There are over 3,500 parking spaces within 250 metres of the ICC at:

1) NIA/ICC North on King Edward Street: 550-space pay-and-display multi-storey;

(2) NIA/ICC South on Sheepcote Street: 862-space pay-and-display multi-storey;

(3) NIA/ICC West on St Vincent Street: 744-space pay-and-display multi-storey (events only);

(4) NIA/ICC Community Hall on Clement Street: pay-and-display multi-storey;

(5) Canalside Brindleyplace on Brunswick Street: 903-space multi-storey

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There are taxi ranks outside Snow Hill and New Street Stations, but not outside Moor Street Station. However, Moor Street is connected by walkway to New Street Station. Cabs may be booked on the following numbers: 0121 773 2999, 0121 773 6666, 0121 772 1543.

Bus route 24 runs between Moor Street Station, New Street Station, Snow Hill Station and the ICC

Bus routes 127, 128 and 129 run between New Street Station, Snow Hill Station and the ICC

Bus routes 9 and 29 run between Snow Hill Station and the ICC.

Please note that routes may change from time to time. Please consult our rail guide for more information about rail travel/train stations in Birmingham

Protests are generally held at the main entrance on Centenary Square.

However, the police cordoned off the ICC and part of Broad Street during the Conservative Party Conference 2010 (News Archive 29/09/10).