THE general election count in Bournemouth will not be held at the BIC as it was already booked for Europe’s biggest cheerleading competition.

The Future Cheer event is set to take place between Monday, July 1 and Sunday, July 7, with the general election to take place on Thursday, July 4.

Election counts usually take place at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), which hosted the local election count in 2023 and the police and crime commissioner count earlier this year.

However, hosting the general election count there would cause ‘economic harm’ to the area due to the disruption to the cheerleading event, which sees more than 30,000 people attend.

Instead, it will be held at the Kings Park Leisure and Learning Centre.

Graham Farrant, acting returning officer and chief executive of BCP Council, said: “As other local authorities have also found, the general election called for 4 July has accelerated the huge amount of planning necessary to support our voters and deliver an efficient poll.

“Part of this work included quickly identifying a suitable venue for the count and the announcement of results.

“Future Cheer Internationals, Europe’s biggest cheerleading competition which has been hosted at Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) for 15 years, already has a large existing booking spanning multiple rooms at the BIC from 1-7 July.

“The Future Cheer event brings value to our local economy, with hotels, restaurants, leisure facilities, transport providers and more benefiting from the 30,000 people who attend.

“We have thoroughly explored options with BH Live but, due to the size of the Future Cheer event, have determined it will not be possible for us to hold the count at the BIC this year without disruption that would cause economic harm to the conurbation.

“Our teams have been working hard to secure another venue in our biggest town capable of accommodating all attending staff, candidates, agents and media.

“We look forward to hosting the count at Kings Park Leisure and Learning Centre (formally Bournemouth Indoor Bowling Centre), which provides us with a suitable alternative to the BIC and offers a large space for checking and counting every vote cast in BCP.

“I’m very grateful to all our staff and partners for the important work they’re doing to support democracy.”

BCP Council is the returning area for the Bournemouth East, Bournemouth West, Christchurch and Poole constituencies.