Brisbane's new kid on the block, the Royal International Convention Centre (Royal ICC), is pleased with its first 12 months of business and will celebrate its first anniversary on 2 March 2014.

The Royal ICC welcomed a number of high profile events in 2013 including the Queensland Tourism Awards, DUG International, National Radio Conference and Australian Commercial Radio Awards, Brisbane Boat Show, Brisbane Maserati Launch and the nationally televised 58th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

Unique outdoor plaza

"We worked hard to provide our customers with a different level of service, flexibility, creativity and care and I believe this is what has really set us apart from the competition this year – as well as the stunning heritage design of the facility," said Ms Hocking. "The space works well with the adjoining unique outdoor Plaza; and our kitchens (and chefs) managed back-to-back large scale events with ease and grace.

"Our investment in Australia's only operable ceiling grid system was appreciated by our customers who were able to produce creative options, and at the same time save on budget and time in the set-up and pull down of event theming and lighting," she said.

And it appears the customers agree. Jan Sinclair, National Events and Operations Manager for The Walkley Foundation for Journalism, was blown away by the Royal ICC saying The Walkley Awards was one of her 'most successful events ever' thanks to the state-of-the-art facilities and excellent customer service.