Prague, represented by members of the Prague Convention Bureau team and representatives of the City of Prague competed with other two strong candidates – Gdańsk in Poland and St. Petersburg in Russia.
The candidacy of Prague was based on the importance of congresses and conferences for the strategic plan of the development of the city and the whole Czech Republic. The Mayor of Prague, Tomáš Hudeček, explains: "We want to inspire ICCA delegates with the story of our city's success on the international meetings market, which has occurred not just because we are a great cultural and tourist city, but because we have placed international meetings at the heart of our economic development and knowledge economy strategies. Bidding for this prestigious congress has helped us to forge a stronger and more creative team, involving public and private sector organizations all across our country, and we are honored that ICCA has placed its trust in us to deliver an outstanding event."
Thanks also go tothe Deputy Mayor, Mr. Václav Novotný, not only for his contribution to the bid, but also for his active participation in pushing through the modernization and extension of the Prague Congress Centre, the only congress facility in the Czech Republic for prestigious international meetings with the participation exceeding 1,500 delegates.
Prague’s winning candidacy for the “Congress of Congresses” is a perfect example of an efficient strategic partnership between the private and public sectors. This proved to be Prague’s biggest advantage and the way to its greater competitiveness on the international congress market.
