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´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase UK, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide's annual programme export event, is to move to Liverpool in 2012 following an agreement with the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool (ACC Liverpool).

Currently held in Brighton, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase is a firm fixture in the television buying calendar and sees over 500 of the world's biggest network buyers attend to purchase the latest ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide content. Stars from both sides of the camera join the sales effort and help pitch to buyers. It is the flagship export event for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Sales & Distribution and now generates up to £50million of programme exports each year.

The move to ACC Liverpool follows a detailed bidding process, initiated in response to pressure in recent years for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase to grow in size and ambition as demand for UK content grows and the client base expands in new sectors such as digital. The event is now in its 35th year and has been held in Brighton for much of this time. Other host destinations have included Bristol, Edinburgh, Jersey and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Announcing the move, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide Sales & Distribution MD, Steve Macallister, said, "The move to ACC Liverpool responds to a real step change in our business. Our distribution activity has expanded significantly in recent years, for example into new areas such as digital. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase needs to evolve and grow alongside this, and ACC Liverpool opens up exciting new possibilities for this next stage of its life.

"I would also like to say a personal thanks to all our friends in Brighton who have made the event such a success over the years. Without their support and dedication ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase would not be the world class event it is today. We know our final ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase in Brighton later this month will be a time to celebrate this success as well as bid a very fond farewell."

Bob Prattey, CEO, ACC Liverpool said, "We are delighted to have been chosen as the new home to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase UK and are proud to be hosting this prestigious media event in 2012 and beyond. This is a very high profile date in the television industry calendar and will give us a great opportunity to showcase our world class venue and unique city on an international stage. We are looking forward to working closely with the team at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide in the coming months and years, to further develop this fantastic event here in Liverpool."

´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase is the only television trade fair hosted by a single distributor in the world. Delegates are allocated individual, digitised viewing booths on which to screen more than 1000 hours of new content over four days. The day and night schedules are also packed with producer pitches, co production forums, screenings and launch parties, with many on and off screen talent attending throughout the week to help pitch to international buyers.

Famous faces at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase have included Sir David Attenborough, Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy, Timothy Spall, Buzz Aldrin, Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Martin Freeman, Louis Theroux, Matt Smith, Michael Palin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Judy Parfitt, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Michael Aspel, Richard Armitage, Keeley Hawes, Katy Brand, Philip Glenister, Sharon Small, Orla Brady and Mark Gatiss.

NOTES TO EDITORS
´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase 2011 will be held in Brighton from 27 February until 2 March. Regional ´óÏó´«Ã½ Showcase events are also held annually in Latin America, the US and China.

About Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool

• Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool (ACC Liverpool) comprises BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena.
• ACC Liverpool is one of the greenest venues in Europe due to specialist design features from wind turbines to rainwater harvesting, which ensure it produces half the CO2 emissions it would without any environmentally-friendly measures.
• In 2010, ACC Liverpool received ISO 14001 accreditation
• Catering is delivered by Heathcotes Outside, which focuses on sourcing food of a local and sustainable nature.

About BT Convention Centre

• Since opening in Spring 2008, the BT Convention Centre has held over 400 conferences and hosted over 200,000 delegates
• Winner of Eventia Industry Award for 'Venue Event Team of the Year' 2010
• It has 1,350 seats, a 3725 sq metre multi-purpose hall and 18 further meeting rooms. Total exhibition space is in excess of 7125 sq metres. It has hosted events including the British Council of Shopping Centres, the NHS Confederation and the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference.
  

Mark Macdonald