Bordeaux Exhibition Centre and Palais 2 l’Atlantique will host the French Firefighters’ Congress in 2027! The fruit of an extensive process, this great news is also the result of a collective effort by the BEAM team, which includes Congress & Show Development Officers Valérie Chevrant-Menichini and Charlotte Grapton.
Efficient and unfailingly cheerful, this dynamic duo reveals the process that led to a multi-faceted offer, boosted by an attractive destination.
How do you work together?
Valérie Chevrant-Menichini: I focus on national accounts, while Charlotte also takes on international clients. I think we draw on each other’s experience in event management to enrich our expertise and on-the-ground vision.
Charlotte Grapton: My previous experience with Agence/PCO (Professional Congress Organiser) is a genuine asset for clients, who feel they can place their trust in us. The complicity I share with Valérie and our constant interchange also enable us to provide solutions for every aspect of a project, from hosting the event to programming details and managing the arrival of thousands of participants.
Valérie Chevrant-Menichini: Our mutual experience is a strength! We share the same work method and imperative for excellent results. Our cheerful disposition is also key; it’s the ideal recipe for relieving the pressure of a job that is truly fascinating but also very intense.
Both of you are in charge of BEAM’s congress offer. How does Bordeaux stand out from other cities?
CG: What differentiates our offer is the appeal of “Destination Bordeaux” firstly, which has really taken off in recent years. Bordeaux is just two hours from Paris by train, is well served by international routes, and is easy to get to by tram from the airport. It also boasts a wide local hotel offer. Bordeaux has become an international brand for tourism and an attractive metropolis for both business and lifestyle. There’s no end to its strong points: its vineyards, culture, historical heritage, proximity to the sea, and so on.
Regarding the attractiveness of the destination, we work closely with regional stakeholders to enrich our offers and address current challenges such as eco-responsibility.
VCM: Our “multi-site” offer is also a strong point. Our clients can choose from five iconic venues, all different yet complementary, which is not something every operator in this sector can boast! The diversity of this offer and specificities of our venues open up a vast range of possibilities. Our Cité Mondiale Convention Centre is appealing for its human scale and location in the heart of Bordeaux. Hangar 14 is a historic venue linking past to present in a remarkable industrial site on the banks of the River Garonne. Bordeaux Exhibition Centre and its three halls offer total freedom to imagine infinite possibilities for events! As for Bordeaux Congress Centre, this is a bright and functional venue which is very easy to adapt.
Palais 2 l’Atlantique appears to be meeting the same success…
VCM: This venue was built in 2019 and is off to an impressive start. We recently hosted the 75th Congress of the French Chartered Accountants Association here, the 81st Bordeaux Social Housing Congress, the General Practitioners’ Congress and that of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP). Palais 2 l’Atlantique pulls out all the stops!
CG: This is an ideal venue for large-scale events and allows us to target European and international gatherings, such as the OHBM (Organization for Human Brain Mapping), which will bring together some 3,500 international participants in June 2026.
VCM: In the nearer future, the French Notaries Congress will take place next September. This congress includes several simultaneous events: a plenary session, an exhibition and theme workshops, etc. The congress is a particular format in our profession, it’s comprehensive and complex.
You host more than forty congresses a year across BEAM’s 5 venues. What role do you play in promoting excellence sectors in the Aquitaine region?
VCM: We work hand-in-hand with local players seeking to bring a congress in their speciality to Bordeaux. These project-holders come from the academic, research, scientific, economic or industrial spheres, or are members of a network or association, and so on. Together we form one large team, acting for a joint project, a destination and a venue. Large-scale projects are a collaborative effort.
CG: It must be pointed out that our collaboration with local project-holders is not limited to the choice of Bordeaux as a destination. Once the tender has been won, months, even years of work follow, an illustration of our long-term support. This is typically the relationship we maintain with the Ambassadors’ Club, a privileged place for interchange composed of professionals driving their excellence sector. Their profiles include scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers. The Club is managed by Bordeaux Convention Bureau, who work alongside us.
Bordeaux Exhibition Centre and Palais 2 l’Atlantique will host the French Firefighters’ Congress in 2027. This is a recent announcement, but can you outline the event for us?
VCM: The decision was finalised last June. We bid for this tender hand-in-hand with the firefighters. Our discussions together began in 2021! We put a lot of “ourselves” into the bid, which was cause for both excitement and emotion. This large-scale event will include workshops, plenary sessions, professional exhibitions on indoor stands, vehicles on show outdoors, and demonstrations on the banks of the lake. In addition to this professional aspect, the congress will open in part to the public for a full day. An opportunity for this much-loved profession to encourage vocations! Charlotte and I are proud to be part of this huge adventure.
CG: This diversity between professionals and the general public is precisely what makes our job so interesting. We get the opportunity to participate in a wide array of activities, from a show with food trucks along the lakeside, to an electro festival and even political, medical and scientific congresses. Every day on the job brings us a fresh dose of adrenalin and host of rich discoveries!
