Following the opening of the Arena & Convention Centre at King's Dock, the city has broken into the world's top 100 conference venues for the first time -and is now ranked higher than New York, Moscow, Auckland, Venice and Bonn.

The city rose an astonishing 44 places in its year as European Capital of Culture to be ranked 86th out of 300 destinations in the league table published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

As well as being ranked in the top 100 - Liverpool has broken into Europe's top 50 and is now in the UK's top five as a major conference destination.

Liverpool's ranking in 2007 was 130th - in 2006 it was 245th - and today city leaders said the they aim to be in the world's top 50 by 2012.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of the Liberal Democrat council which was instrumental in creating the Arena & Convention Centre, and owns and operates it through a subsidiary company, said: ''These rankings are a huge boost for our reputation as a great place to do business and I thank everyone who has worked tirelessly to catapult the city back into Europe's premier league.

''We knew a world class conference centre was vital to our future prosperity, and with the cultural and retail offer to match, Liverpool's global appeal to businesses and tourists will continue to grow and grow.''

To gain its ranking, Liverpool City Region hosted 18 events that met the following ICCA criteria:

• An event must attract a minimum of 50 delegates

• An event must take place regularly (i.e. every year/four years) and not be an ad hoc event

• An event must rotate between at least three different countries

It is estimated Liverpool's Arena & Convention Centre contributed £200million to Liverpool's economy in its first year in 2008. The venue, which comprises the 11,000 seater Echo Arena and the BT Convention Centre, saw 700,000 people pass through its doors in the first 12 months.

Highlights of this year's conference programme, announced so far, include blue chip conferences including the Royal College of General Practitioners, The TUC Congress, The NHS Confederation and The Association of British Neurologists.

Councillor Gary Millar, the Liberal Democrat executive member for tourism and enterprise, said: "Being European Capital of Culture has had a huge impact on the city's international profile and appeal and 2008 was an amazing platform to launch the Convention Centre.These rankings also prove ACC Liverpool is really making an impact to our economy, with evidence suggesting a high percentage of delegates often come back as tourists.

"The years of investment in the city's infrastructure and training in our hospitality sector is beginning to reap dividends and we our committed to supporting the industry to further improve the city's welcome to visitors and businesses alike."

"Rising 44 places in the last year shows what an attractive and competitive prospect Liverpool is for international conference buyers and event organisers. To be ranked at 86th in the world with the likes of Adelaide and San Francisco, and ranking higher than New York City and Auckland, is a fantastic achievement."

For the full ICCA 2008 report go to: http://www.iccaworld.com/cnt/docs/2008-Statistics-Report-CountryCity-Rankings.pdf