Newport’s ICC Wales Lands AUGIS and RCPCH Conference Wins 2026

Key Points

• Two major medical association conferences have been secured by ICC Wales, bringing an estimated 2,800 delegates to Newport.
• The Annual General Meeting of AUGIS, The Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland, will be held at ICC Wales in September 2027, with an estimated 800 delegates attending.
• The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) will hold its Annual Conference at the venue in May 2029, attracting around 2,000 delegates.
• AUGIS and the RCPCH are both new clients of ICC Wales.
• According to ICC Wales, life sciences conferences held at ICC Wales in 2026 had an economic impact on Wales valued at around £4 million.
• Craig Bingham, ICC Wales managing director, says that the venue is experiencing high demand from sectors in which Wales already excels, such as medical associations, life sciences and technology.
• The news was reported by Wales247, with further related articles appearing in industry publications Event-Technology Portal, beam and Vedax Digital.

Newport (Wales Times) November 09, 2026 — ICC Wales has secured two major medical association conferences, with the venue expecting the events to bring a combined 2,800 delegates to uk/local/newport/">Newport. As reported by Wales247, the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland (AUGIS) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) have both chosen the International Convention Centre Wales for forthcoming annual events.

AUGIS will hold its Annual General Meeting at ICC Wales in September 2027. The conference is expected to attract 800 delegates.

The RCPCH Annual Conference will follow in May 2029. It is expected to welcome 2,000 delegates, making it the larger of the two newly secured events.

According to Wales247, both conferences represent new client partnerships for ICC Wales. The venue has positioned the wins as further evidence of demand for its conference facilities from medical associations, life sciences organisations and technology-focused event organisers.

What Does ICC Wales Say About the Wins?

ICC Wales managing director Craig Bingham said the venue was seeing strong demand from sectors where Wales has “real strengths”, particularly medical associations, life sciences and technology.

As reported by Wales247, Mr Bingham said: “Securing conferences such as AUGIS and RCPCH is particularly encouraging, as both represent new client relationships for us and will bring significant new business to Wales.”

He added that ICC Wales believed its success came from bringing together “a world-class venue, a compelling destination offer and a team that genuinely understands what organisers need”.

Mr Bingham also referred to the venue’s involvement in the business events industry, its relationships with associations and partners, and its approach to sharing knowledge and delivering added value. He said these factors helped the venue build trust and create new opportunities.

Why Are the Conference Wins Significant?

The two conferences are significant for ICC Wales because they are new relationships rather than repeat bookings from existing clients. Wales247 reported that both AUGIS and RCPCH are new client partnerships for the Newport venue.

The combined delegate total of 2,800 is expected to be spread across two separate events: 800 delegates for AUGIS in September 2027 and 2,000 delegates for RCPCH in May 2029.

The announcements also add to ICC Wales’s medical and life sciences events portfolio. The venue said that life sciences conferences hosted there during 2026 had generated £4 million in economic impact for Wales.

Industry coverage of the announcement described the wins as strengthening ICC Wales’s position in the association, life sciences and technology markets. Event-Technology Portal reported that the decisions by the two medical bodies signalled continued confidence in the venue’s capability to host large-scale, content-heavy meetings.

Which Organisations Are Coming to Newport?

Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons

The Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland, known as AUGIS, will bring its Annual General Meeting to ICC Wales in September 2027.

The organisation is expected to bring 800 delegates to the Newport venue.

Event-Technology Portal reported that the AUGIS AGM is a key event in the association’s calendar, bringing together consultants, surgeons in training, multidisciplinary teams and industry partners focused on upper gastrointestinal conditions and treatments.

The publication also reported that, by selecting ICC Wales, AUGIS would convene its membership in Wales for the first time.

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health will hold its Annual Conference at ICC Wales in May 2029.

The event is expected to attract 2,000 delegates, according to Wales247.

RCPCH is a medical organisation focused on paediatrics and child health. Its decision to bring its annual conference to ICC Wales forms part of the venue’s newly announced medical association business wins.

The RCPCH’s own events information shows that its 2027 conference is scheduled to take place in Liverpool, while the newly announced ICC Wales event is set for 2029.

What Economic Impact Has ICC Wales Reported?

ICC Wales said that life sciences conferences hosted at the venue in 2026 had generated £4 million in economic impact for Wales.

The venue did not provide a separate economic-impact estimate for the newly secured AUGIS and RCPCH conferences in the announcement reported by Wales247.

However, the announcement linked the new conference wins to ICC Wales’s wider aim of bringing new business to Wales, generating economic impact and creating “meaningful legacy outcomes” for communities and partners.

Mr Bingham said success was about “more than filling the venue”, adding that it was also about bringing new business to Wales, generating economic impact and strengthening Wales’s reputation as a destination for world-class business events.

How Does This Fit ICC Wales’s Wider Events Strategy?

ICC Wales has previously projected substantial economic benefits from its conference and events programme. In 2024, the venue said its confirmed events were expected to draw more than 100,000 delegates from around the world to Newport.

At that time, ICC Wales said its bookings spanned sectors including technology, healthcare, education and renewable energy. Confirmed events cited by the venue included the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Conference and Exhibition in 2025 and the Worldchefs Congress and Expo in 2026.

The newly announced AUGIS and RCPCH conferences extend that healthcare-focused events pipeline into 2027 and 2029.

ICC Wales is located at Coldra Woods in Newport and offers 26,000 square metres of events space, capacity for up to 5,000 delegates, a 1,500-seat tiered auditorium and a 4,000-square-metre pillar-free exhibition hall, according to Visit Cardiff.

What Has Been Reported by Other Outlets?

The announcement was first reported by Wales247 under the headline “ICC Wales secures two major conferences bringing 2,800 delegates to Newport”.

Event-Technology Portal also covered the news, reporting that the two medical bodies would bring leading clinical and life sciences specialists to Wales for the first time.

The publication said the wins involved AUGIS, which will stage its Annual General Meeting at the Newport venue, and RCPCH, which will hold its Annual Conference there in 2029.

Industry publication beam also reported the announcement, stating that the AUGIS and RCPCH conferences would bring 2,800 delegates to ICC Wales and that life sciences conferences hosted at the venue in 2026 had generated £4 million in economic impact for Wales.

Vedax Digital similarly reported that both associations would be holding an event in Wales for the first time, and that ICC Wales had hosted 20 life sciences events in 2026, attracting 6,000 delegates.

Background of the Development

ICC Wales, formally the International Convention Centre Wales, opened in September 2019 and is located at Coldra Woods in Newport.

The venue was developed as a joint venture between the Celtic Manor and the Welsh Government. WalesOnline reported that the convention centre cost £83.7 million and includes a 4,000-square-metre main hall, a 1,500-seat auditorium and 15 meeting rooms.

ICC Wales has sought to build a portfolio of national and international business events across sectors including healthcare, life sciences, technology, education and renewable energy.

The latest announcement adds two medical association events to that pipeline. AUGIS is scheduled to visit in September 2027, while RCPCH is scheduled to hold its Annual Conference at the venue in May 2029.

The venue’s reported £4 million economic impact from life sciences conferences in 2026 provides context for its focus on attracting further medical and scientific events.

Prediction: How Could This Affect Newport and Wales?

For local businesses in Newport, the two conferences could create demand for accommodation, restaurants, transport, catering, AV services, security, event staffing and other visitor-facing services around the event dates. The expected combined attendance of 2,800 delegates gives an indication of the scale of visitor activity, although the venue has not published a separate economic forecast for the two conferences.

For ICC Wales, the wins may strengthen its position in the medical association and life sciences events market. The fact that both organisations are new clients suggests the venue is expanding its relationships with professional bodies rather than relying solely on repeat business.

For Wales’s wider business-events sector, the announcements may support the argument that the country can attract specialist professional conferences. Craig Bingham’s comments indicate that ICC Wales sees medical associations, life sciences and technology as priority sectors where Wales has particular strengths.

For healthcare professionals and academic organisations, the events could bring specialist discussion, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities to Wales. The AUGIS event is expected to involve surgeons, trainees, multidisciplinary teams and industry partners, according to Event-Technology Portal.

The longer-term effect will depend on whether the conferences generate repeat visits, future bookings and continued engagement between event organisers and Welsh partners. ICC Wales has previously said that such outcomes, alongside immediate delegate spending, are part of the wider economic benefit it seeks from major events.