'World Olympics of Horticulture' heads to Brisbane

The 29th International Horticultural Congress (IHC 2014), which kicked off at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) on 17 August for five days, has attracted 3,500 of the world’s leading experts in horticultural science from 100 countries.

Brisbane won the bid to host this congress in 2006, after an initial bid in 1998.

The congress will host more than 40 symposia, covering a range of topics under the theme 'Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes'.

As well as the main congress, 17 additional international meetings will be held at the centre in conjunction with the event, which in total is expected to deliver £6m to the local economy.

Workshops and business meetings, technical field trips and post congress tours are included in the formal science programme.

IHC 2014 is the 150th anniversary of the first event in Brussels in 1864 and is only the second time the event has taken place in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bob O’Keeffe, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s general manager, said: "Hosting international meetings of this calibre and scale are an acknowledgement of the unique appeal of Brisbane and the world-class infrastructure and facilities of the centre, in what is a very competitive international environment.

"This is one of the biggest events on the calendar for BCEC this year and is part of a very strong business events agenda leading up to the G20 Leaders Summit, which the centre will host in November."