The Cultural Centre of Belém, located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal. The CCB's 140,000 m² spaces was initially built to accommodate the European Presidency, but adapted to provide spaces for conferences, exhibitions and artistic venues (such as opera, ballet and symphony concerts), in addition to political and research congresses, high security meeting halls, and a 7,000 m² exhibition area.