Adjacent to the island's financial heart at the Central harbourfront, the word Tamar is often used as a metonymy for the Government of Hong Kong.

Once the most expensive piece of empty land in Hong Kong, valued at $24.3 billion on the market ($9,000 per square foot), the site attracted projects from different parties, including the government's new headquarters, highly profitable office or retailing space, and a waterfront open green space.

A number of large-scale functions including expos and musical or theatrical performances had been staged at the Tamar site before.

The Tamar site was suggested since the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the conference was to be held, is visible from it.

All vehicles and their drivers and passengers had to go through screening at the Tamar Site for security verification before being allowed to enter the conference venue.

The government halted the Tamar project development in November 2003 because of the tough economic climate during the SARS outbreak.

The government decided to cut out the use for exhibitions in order to lower the development intensity of the site and to alleviate effects on transport infrastructure arising from the project.