ICC Sydney — Attraction in Sydney

ICC Sydney makes a strong first impression the moment you step onto the Darling Harbour precinct. The building feels modern and airy, with lots of natural light and wide concourses that keep crowds flowing even when a big expo and a conference share the calendar. Wayfinding is clear, escalators are placed sensibly between levels, and staff at the information desks are proactive about pointing you to the right hall or theatre door. Bag checks move quickly, lanyard scanning is smooth, and there are plenty of places to pause, from harbour facing terraces to quieter corners with lounge seating.

Inside the theatres and meeting rooms, acoustics are crisp and sightlines are better than average, even from the back half of the stalls. Screens are bright, sound is full without being chest thumping, and the AV teams clearly know their craft. Breakout spaces are generous, which helps when exhibitors and attendees all spill out at once. It is a relief to find lots of power points along walls and at high tables, plus water refill stations dotted around so you can skip the single use bottle. Air conditioning sits in the comfortable zone, not arctic, and bathrooms are clean and well distributed across the floors.

Food and coffee are always the test at large venues, and ICC Sydney does pretty well. Pop up espresso carts pull decent shots, grab and go counters handle dietary requests with useful labelling, and if you need more choice the Darling Harbour strip is a short stroll with everything from quick sushi to sit down pasta. Transport is easy. The light rail stops nearby, there is undercover parking if you must drive, and a flat walk links you to Town Hall or Wynyard if you are mixing sessions with city meetings. For large events that still feel human scaled and well organised, this venue delivers a polished, stress...

What an embarrassing establishment in the heart of our city - to think we will welcome tourists and international guests to this operational and logistical nightmare!!! Total embarrassment!!! I attended Steven Bartletts talk tonight and if I were him I’d be so utterly disappointed with the handling of patrons before and after his show. To start with, they had skeleton staff ushering patrons, with no way finding signage or staff members situated to guide us. Instead they left everyone to line up in ONE single line that spanned the length of the entire bottom floor of the ICC - all the way outside!!! We stood in that line for over 30 minutes with no direction. This obviously resulted in the line moving at a snail pace, meaning that people were drip fed into the auditorium and subsequently the show started 30 minutes later than anticipated. THEN to top it off, exiting the carpark was a complete and utter disaster and a safety hazard. For over 45 minutes cars sat completely station in the carpark as the boom gates were not opening, nor were the individual pay stations operating. However we were not advised of this and there are no contact details anywhere in the carpark - so we were just left there waiting. No staff were sent to assist, no security were there advising of the logistical issue. It was not until 45 minutes had past that they sent staff down (it was now midnight at this stage) and they had ONE person working across FOUR book gates individually letting the pile up of cars out. To make matters worse they still insisted on making each patron pay for packing, despite the wait time we were subjected to. Think twice before hosting ANY event here - the operational NIGHTMARE your guests will experience will leave a horrendous taste in...

Today, as an exhibitor at the International Convention Centre (ICC), I encountered an extremely unpleasant situation while moving out our materials. A security guard, and subsequently a supervisor who was aware but unresponsive, displayed unprofessionalism to a shocking extent.

The guard repeatedly called my colleague and me "stupid" more than six times and threatened us with a permanent ban from ICC. This occurred after a misunderstanding over safety vests, which we were temporarily unable to retrieve from the loading dock. Despite the physical burden of carrying heavy materials, we were denied lift access, aggressively told to use another entry, and unreasonably threatened with police involvement.

This behavior was not only unprovoked but also derogatory, undermining the professional respect and conduct expected in such a prestigious venue. It’s disheartening to see such a lack of training and decency in handling situations that could have been resolved with simple understanding and guidance.

I have always valued being an exhibitor at the ICC, but this incident has cast a significant shadow over my perception of the center. An apology and a reassurance that measures will be taken to improve staff training and customer service are not just necessary but imperative for us to consider continuing our participation.

No exhibitor or visitor should have to endure such treatment. I hope my feedback will prompt ICC to take serious actions towards enhancing their staff's professionalism and the overall experience for...