Prevue January/February 2013 - (Page 80)

Manchester England’s northern capital is shedding its pub/soccer image with high-tech venues, hip hotels & great food. couple years ago, the BBC moved its sports, research and tech departments from London two hours north to Manchester’s new MediaCityUK. I’m here during the London Olympics with John Ryan, a Manchester Green Badge tour guide, who shows me around the world’s busiest newsroom at the moment. The energy is palpable among the hundreds of TV monitors and countless journalists manning endless banks of computer screens. I’m thinking any more high-tech than this, and you have to go to NASA. Planners can book the same 20-minute tour for their attendees interested in life at “The Beeb.” Manchester today is aggressively focused on the future and new tech, rebuilding its infrastructure after the economy collapsed when the main port closed decades ago. But first we need to step back 600 years. “Dutch weavers came here in the 1400s because the climate was good to turn cotton into thread,” says Ryan. [ON LOCATION] GREG OATES A “We’re like your Seattle.” In the 1800s, the invention of the cotton jenny in Manchester spawned the Industrial Revolution. At one point, over 90% of the world’s cotton was traded here, after arriving from the U.S. through the world’s first shipping canal into the world’s first industrial park. With the arrival of container shipping however, it all went bust in the ‘70s. “This whole area was one big, filthy, abandoned dump,” sums up Ryan. “But you’d never know it, would you?” The shiny new glass buildings of MediaCityUK now occupy the banks of these canals following one of the world’s largest land reclamation projects, much like London did at its postindustrial Olympic Park. While kayakers paddle by us, Ryan says the canals have achieved Blue Flag certification. MediaCityUK began with the opening of The Lowry in 2000. The performing art center’s modern design for its time was unlike anything anyone had seen before. It’s a 15-minute tram ride from Manchester city center to see theatrical plays 72 | prevue magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue January/February 2013

Planner's Pick: Whistler, BC
Fresh Meets: Hilton Latin America
Bureau Buzz: Oklahoma City
Good Business: Hong Kong
Sea Shores: Alaskan Dream Cruises
Value & Variety
New Orleans & The Northshore
Convention Districts
Corporate Retreats
On Location: Tropicana Las Vegas
On Location: Leadership Summit, Lima
Special Section: Florida
On Location: Puerto Vallarta
Manchester
On Location: Glasgow
Check Out: San Jose, California

Prevue January/February 2013