By Feizal Samath
Built in 1973 to host the Non-Aligned Conference, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) is Sri Lanka’s largest convention centre. It underwent refurbishments about 18 months ago, and has since reopened.
BMICH is a popular venue choice for major national and international conferences as well as weddings and musical concerts.
MICE application Its unique selling point is its collection of 16 different venues spread across 17 hectares.
The Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre is perfect for exhibitions, conventions and seminars. Spread across 4,500m2 are two exhibition halls, a lobby, a dining room, a lounge, a kitchen and other amenities.
New to BMICH is a garden which can be spruced up for a candle-lit barbecue dinner for 20 to 30 guests.
In BMICH’s main building are two conference rooms that can accommodate 309 and 200 guests, and two smaller rooms for 50 and 30 people.
A 1,500-seat auditorium is the largest in the city.
BMICH is supported by advanced equipment including a simultaneous translation facility that can handle seven languages at one time as well as a dedicated kitchen, staffed by around 100 employees and managed by the Mount Lavinia Hotel, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest properties.
Providing much ease to event planners is BMICH’s own hotel, the 60-key Sovereign. It is, however, located a 20-minute drive away. Smaller meetings can be held at the hotel.
Service Although the management promises to offer the best, service is slow and food served at events held at BMICH isn’t extraordinary. Perhaps some training to update the service crew would help.
