Few buildings on this stretch of coast change character as often as the BIC. On a Friday the pavement outside fills with people in tour shirts queueing for a band; a fortnight later the same doors take in several thousand delegates in lanyards. It is the largest indoor venue on the South Coast, and it sits directly behind the sand.
What to see and do
The programme is deliberately broad, and that is the point of the place. Touring music is the headline draw, with the main auditorium taking acts that would otherwise skip the region entirely, and the bill across a year runs from rock and metal through pop, soul and country to the big tribute shows and variety nights that fill a Saturday. Stand-up tours stop here on their way round the country. So does televised darts, which turns the hall into something closer to a football terrace. Weekend festivals such as comic conventions and brick-building shows take over the exhibition floors and pull in families for the day, while the same halls host the political party conferences that occasionally put Bournemouth on the national news. Because the calendar shifts so much month to month, it is worth checking what is on before you plan a trip around it, and worth browsing our what's on guide alongside the venue's own listings.
The setting
The centre opened in the mid-1980s and is run today by BH Live, a registered charity that also looks after the Pavilion Theatre up the hill. This is a purpose-built events building rather than a period one: broad foyers, escalators and lifts between levels, bars and concession stands where the crowd gathers before a show. There are several halls of different sizes under the one roof. The Windsor Hall is the big one, built for concerts and arena-format events. The Solent Hall alongside it is a flexible space that looks out over the bay and works for exhibitions and standing gigs, and the smaller Tregonwell Hall handles meetings, workshops and more intimate conferences. The scale means the pre-show atmosphere is unmistakable, particularly when the whole building is turned over to a single event.
Where it is
The address is Exeter Road, BH2 5BH, at the foot of the West Cliff and only a couple of minutes from the seafront and Bournemouth Pier. The Lower Gardens run down to it from the Square, so walking in from the town centre is easy and pleasant, and there is plenty within a short walk once a show ends. Bournemouth railway station is roughly fifteen to twenty minutes away on foot, and local buses serve the seafront and the Square. If you are making a day of it, there is a lot else within reach in our guide to things to do in Bournemouth.
Good to know
Book ahead for anything popular, as the bigger tours sell out well in advance and prices and availability move with demand. Access is taken seriously here: step-free routes from the street and car park, wheelchair positions in both the stalls area and the upper balcony, a personal assistant ticket scheme for eligible customers, and guide and assistance dogs welcome with advance notice. The attached car park is cashless and has a height limit, so check before turning up in a van or roof-boxed estate. For opening times, on-sale dates, access bookings and current event details, check the venue's website directly.