Venue guide
We have put together the below guide to give you as much information as possible about this year's Congress venue before the event.
If you have any questions or want to discuss any of the points below please contact our Congress Manager, Katie Newton via email or phone on 0208 618 4144.
The 2023 RCPsych International Congress will be taking place at the ACC, Liverpool.
Address
ACC, Liverpool
King's Dock
Liverpool Waterfront
Liverpool
L3 4FP
There are several options when travelling to this year's Congress
Train
The ACC Liverpool is a 20-minute walk or 10-minute taxi ride from Liverpool Lime Street. Liverpool Lime Street serves most of the UK, with regular trains to London Euston, taking just over two hours. You can plan your train journey to Congress in more detail through Trainline. Please note that there is no direct bus from Liverpool Lime Street to the Congress venue.
Bus
Most Liverpool city centre bound buses will call at either Queen Square bus station (a 15-minute walk) or Liverpool ONE Bus Station (a five-minute walk). You can plan your bus journey to the Congress in more detail through Mersey Travel. Please note that there is no direct bus from Liverpool Lime Street to the Congress venue.
Car
The ACC is just 20 minutes from the UK motorway network and adjacent to Liverpool's main through road. There is nearby parking next to the venue at a fee. You can find full details on costs on the ACC website
The car park address is:
Kings Dock Car Park
Monarchs Quay
Liverpool
L3 4BX
There are 88 accessible spaces spread over the 7 floors of the car park.
Plane
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is a 25-minute taxi journey from the ACC Liverpool or a 30-minute bus journey. Liverpool John Lennon Airport has a number of scheduled flights across the UK, Europe and other international destinations. Manchester Airport is also easily accessible by train to Liverpool Lime Street
Walk/cycle
There are a number of cycle routes in and around Liverpool, making the ACC, Liverpool easily accessible by bike. You can find more information about the routes from Liverpool City Council's website.
Walking in Liverpool is a great way to enjoy and experience the historic city, particularly around the waterfront. Much of this area is pedestrianised making it a safe way to get to Congress this year
Taxi
Please find a list below of local taxi companies. These companies can also provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
Please specify the requirement for wheelchair access on booking.
- Delta Taxis 0151 922 7373 (cash bookings – card available upon request)
- Com Cabs 0151 298 1234 (credit card bookings)
- Com Cabs 0151 298 2222 (cash bookings)
The best drop-off location, if travelling to the venue by taxi, is outside the Pullman Hotel. There is also a dropped kerb here providing access to the main pathway to the Congress venue.
The ACC, Liverpool is split between three levels. You can find a detailed plan of each level via the links below.
Lower level - this is where you will find the exhibition hall, catering and poster presentations
Galleria - this is where you will find the registration area and cloak room
Upper level - this is where you will find the rooms for the plenary talks and sessions
All catering for the Congress will be served in Hall 2 (the Exhibition area).
Tea and coffee will be provided during the morning and afternoon breaks and a full lunch will be served during the lunch hour.
All food and beverages will be served using china to reduce the level of waste produced by the event. We would also like to encourage you to bring your own water bottles and keep cups to use throughout the Congress.
If you have any dietary requirements please let us know by completing our dietary requirement form. When at the venue if you let a member of the catering team aware, they will be happy to assist you.
We welcome breastfeeding anywhere at Congress but a private feeding room is available in Hall 7 if preferred.
We will also have a dedicated room, Hall 3A/B, live streaming each of the keynote sessions, that will be a more relaxed environment, so you may wish to sit in this room if your baby is unsettled, but you don't want to miss the plenary talks.
We will have a dedicated quiet room available in Hall 4B, that you are welcome to use at any point during the Congress.
We will also have a separate dedicated quiet room that we will be streaming each of the plenary lectures to. This will be in Hall 11A/B/C.
We would encourage you, if using this room, to use a sensitive applause. Please note however, that sound and applause from the main lecture theatre may be picked up through the stream.
The programme sessions will be held in the following rooms
Keynote sessions - Hall 1A/B/C
Parallel sessions - Hall 1A, Hall 1B, Hall 1C, Hall 3A/B and Hall 11A/B/C
Rapid fire poster presentations - Hall 2
Congress cultural fringe - Hall 1A, Hall 3A/B, Hall 4A, Hall 12 and Room 13/14/15
Student and trainee - Student and trainees' lounge
Please view the programme for details on which sessions are taking place in which room.
For room locations please view the venue map.
Each keynote session will last for 30 minutes. There will not be a chance for Q&A during these sessions.
If you would prefer to sit in a quiet space during the keynote sessions, we will be relaying the talks to a keynote overflow room. The dedicated quiet room to watch the keynotes is Hall 11A/B/C
Each of the parallel sessions will be 75 minutes in total. These sessions will typically consist of three presentations each lasting 20 minutes with 15 minutes for Q&A. Some sessions may differ slightly.
We will be recording all sessions at the Congress, where we have speaker permission to do so. These recordings will be made available after the Congress has taken place. If you have purchased a whole Congress ticket, the recordings will be included in your ticket price. If you have purchased a day ticket(s) you will be entitled to a discounted rate for the recording package.
The main registration times are as below
Sunday 9 July - 5.00pm - 8.00pm
Monday 10 July - 8.00am - 10.00am
Tuesday 11 July - 8.00am - 9.00am
Wednesday 12 July - 8.00am - 9.00am
Thursday 13 July - 8.00am - 9.00am
The registration desks will however be open throughout the Congress and you are welcome to collect your badge at any time.
To collect your badge you will simply need to enter your name in to one of the self service machines, print your badge and attach a lanyard. You will need to wear your badge at all times to gain access to any of the sessions, exhibition hall and catering. There will be a member of staff at the badge printers to assist you if required.
An image of the badge printers can be seen below
If you would prefer a quiet registration desk or more support collecting your badge please email our Congress Manager, Katie Newton (katie.newton@rcpsych.ac.uk)
In the registration area we will have a dedicated help desk open throughout the Congress.
Come to see us if you need anything and we will be happy to help.
The main entrance to the ACC for the Congress will be the Cityside entrance. This will bring you into the Galleria, where the registration desks are located. This entrance has automatic double doors and will be staffed throughout the event. The Galleria flooring is slate.
An image of the Galleria entrance can be seen below
- If you are being dropped off by taxi or car, the best drop off point is outside the Pullman Hotel. There is a dropped kerb here giving access to the main pathway to the venue.
- The cloakroom and guest relations are also located on the Galleria level. Guest relations is the main reception point for the building and also an information point providing local information including taxi bookings.
- There are two lifts available from the Galleria to both the upper and lower floors. Each lift has an accessible width of 1300mm and visual and audible floor indicators. There are also escalators which can be used to access the other levels. Stewards are situated at both escalators to assist delegates.
- The conference rooms are situated on the upper level where stewards are available to assist disabled delegates. The conference level lighting is bright and there are contrasting colours to assist with navigation. Both the conference level and lower levels are carpeted.
- In Hall 1 (main auditorium tiered seating) there are 12 designated spaces for wheelchair users and carers. These spaces can be used for assistance dogs. Hall 1 is also accessible on two different levels with the lower of the two levels providing access to the main stage. The designated spaces offer clear sight lines of any performance. In the breakout rooms, where possible, we will also ensure that there is spaced out seating providing enough room for wheelchair users and carers to sit.
The Congress venue has an infra-red assisted listening service, which is available in specific seating areas. A personal neck loop can be collected from a member of venue staff or at the Guest Relations desk.
Please make your way to the guest relations desk, and ask for more details if you require this service.
The below toilets and baby change facilities are available throughout the venue