The Belém Cultural Center (Portuguese: Centro Cultural de Belém) is a complex of artistic venues located in Belém in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal, with over 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft) of usable space. The centre was initially built to accommodate the programme of Portugal's Presidency of the European Council in 1992, but with the long-term goal of providing permanent venues for conferences, exhibitions and performance arts (such as opera, ballet and concerts), in addition to meeting halls, shops and cafés.