The SNP will return to Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) this week to host their biggest ever Annual National Conference.
The annual conference, which is taking place from 15 - 17 October, is set to welcome more than 5000 attendees over the three days, which is a large increase compared to that of their Spring Conference held at AECC in April last year attracting 1400 members over two days.
Party members will be welcomed to the conference and the region by MP for Aberdeen North, Kirsty Blackman and MP for Aberdeen South, Callum McCaig. The welcome to the conference will be followed by a look towards the future by Party Leader and First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP.
This year’s conference is set to discuss some of the important issues faced in todays climate such as employment and sustainability, and will include an address from Deputy First Minister John Swinney MSP as well as a fraternal address by Leanne Wood AM, Leader of Plaid Cymru. There is also an extremely busy fringe programme with over 100 events taking place.
Graeme Cumming, Interim Managing Director of AECC, said: “We look forward to welcoming the SNP Annual National Conference to AECC, it’s great to see them back at the venue. The diversity of conferences coming to the region and the wider appeal of Aberdeen and AECC is shown with numerous association conferences confirmed for coming years, and in turn this has helped to increase the AECC ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) ranking within the UK and worldwide.”
Susan Ruddick, Corporate Development Manager for the SNP, added: “The SNP has grown considerably in the past year and it is great that the AECC is able to accommodate a larger, more vibrant conference. We’re delighted to be back and look forward to a successful conference, bringing more than £4.6 million to the local economy.”