Denmark - Copenhagen's Bella Center hosted 170,000 politicians, officials, reporters and NGOs during the recent 13-day climate change conference. This makes COP15 the largest event ever held in the venue, and also Denmark.
The Climate Change Conference was also the biggest the UN has experienced, with more than 45,000 accredited delegates, NGOs and reporters. Three days before the conclusion of the summit conference, 38 extra meeting rooms were ordered in Bella Center - for the USA and China, among others, all built and furnished in time.
With a maximum 15,000 people allowed inside at any one time, the enormous interest actually broke the system, with long queues snaking outside the Bella Center. The UN had to issue an apology for the chaos.
"However, seen from the Danes' and Bella Center's points of view, the long queues were the only practical thing that did not function," says Bella Center director, Arne Bang Mikkelsen.
"Inside, the execution of the summit conference was a fantastic experience. Servicing 11,000 to 15,000 guests around the clock was an enormous task and I am really proud that we and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were able to deliver," says Bang Mikkelsen.
