ICE Kraków Congress Centre, operated by Krakow Festival Office, has hosted the World Heritage Marathon.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and Administration, the National Heritage Board of Poland, the City of Krakow and the Polish UNESCO Committee.
Held from 2–12 July, 2,500 participants took part in what was billed as "the longest and the most logistically complex meeting that have ever been held in ICE Kraków".
Every space in ICE Kraków was re-arranged especially for the event:
- The Auditorium Hall in the half-vineyard system was adapted to serve as the Plenary Hall in the classroom system with workstations for nearly 400 delegates, members of the Executive Committee, and the Presidium. To this end, a few hundred chairs were removed and specially designed desks were installed.
- Secretariats and offices preparing documents for the session were installed in the Conference Room Complex using the mobile sound- proof wall system.
- The Theatre Hall and half of the Chamber Hall, as well as a few smaller rooms in the boardroom system, served as offices for advisory organisations and UNESCO representatives.
- Even dressing rooms underwent complete metamorphosis, adapted to serve as small offices of advisory organisations and institutions, such as the host country
- ministries. The spaces for organisation of events by guest countries were arranged in the three-level glazed foyer overlooking the Wawel Hill.
- Half of the Chamber Hall and the underground S5 Hall served as venues for lectures, film screenings, exhibitions, and small receptions.
The preparations for the event took seven months, including two official visits of UNESCO representatives and over 20 study visits by the organiser, subcontractors and coordinators of various works. The Krakow Festival Office, the operator ICE Kraków, seconded seven staff members from various units and departments legal, technical support, sales, project and production departments.
Dedicated staff was available nonstop, offering its experience, knowledge of the facility and legal environment.
