Development of the £146m Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) – dubbed the Echo – in Liverpool is on schedule to open in January 2008 to host the opening ceremony to mark the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.

Two hotels with a total of 452 bedrooms will provide onsite accommodation for visitors.

Bovis Lend Lease has completed the project’s main structure, according to a design by architects Wilkinson Eyre.

Chef Paul Heathcote’s company, Heathcotes Outside, has been appointed venue caterer.

In addition, 83 events have been booked in advance of the ACC’s opening next year, including the seven-day Winter Pops music festival, the World Firefighter Games and conferences for the Royal College of Nursing and the British Chambers of Commerce.

Design specialist Balance is currently running an advertising poster campaign at all rail stations in Merseyside and on the side of the city’s black cabs to attract interest in the Echo’s forthcoming opening.