Conferencing in the capital

London is a truly inspirational city – it has long been heralded as the jewel in the crown of Europe’s conference destinations. For conference and events organisers London is an international events capital which has all the right ingredients: numerous state-of-the-art venues, an easy to use and affordable transport system and a plethora of leading entertainment and hospitality spaces. The combinations of all of these elements have now created the world’s most exciting events destination.
    
These are exciting times for London. Since winning the bid to host the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games there has been an even greater buzz around the city. A number of new conference and exhibition venues are being built; new hotels have been developed and new restaurants and transport links are being created.
    
London’s strength is its world-class variety. With five international airports and 16 major exhibition centres including ExCeL London, Earls Court, Olympia and the Business Design Centre, it really does offer the perfect solution for any event organiser. London also has a huge range of leisure and entertainment spaces, which are often cited as the very best in the world. With over 17 national museums and galleries (more than 250 of them with free entrance) it provides a complete 360˚ experience for delegates.

Small, medium and large
We often get calls at Visit London from events planners who are looking for flexible venues which have a whole range meetings spaces under one roof. Many of them don’t know the range that London has to offer – or simply want to use new spaces which they may not have heard about before. The range of enquires we get means that we can often have a request for a venue which has both a small break-out space for five people through to huge conferences spaces which holds 500.
    
We hope the selection of venues we have recommended below will inspire and excite you. If you would like more information on these venues or any others in London then go to visitlondon.com/business.
    
When it comes to a flexible venue Southbank Centre really does tick all the boxes. Southbank Centre has a variety of auditoria, rooms and spaces that can be hired for diverse events including conferences, AGMs, product launches, awards ceremonies, receptions and private dinners. With so many diverse arts and music events taking place, delegates can soak up the cool cultural vibe too.
    
If you’re searching for a London venue which has a range of exciting events spaces Barbican is where your search should end! Holding the very prestigious title of Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue, the venue houses a range of art, music, theatre, dance and education events. It is also home to the London Symphony Orchestra. The building comprises of a prestigious concert hall, two theatres, three cinemas, two art galleries, a library, two trade exhibition halls, five conference rooms, as well as foyers, shops and even a tropical conservatory – perfect for drinks receptions or an unusual meeting.
    
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has been running for over 250 years. The RSA house provides a unique venue which combines the Society’s innovative and creative thinking with beautiful meeting and events spaces. Used for numerous films and TV programmes, the interior is a harmonious mixed of traditional and ultra modern. The house is right in the heart of central London, and offers a range of services and spaces to meet any corporate and commercial needs.

Prestigious buildings
The Royal College of Physicians is an award-winning, modern Grade I-Listed building. The venue also has a museum which houses a rare collection of portraits, silver and medical collections.
    
Overlooking Regent’s Park, it has an impressive range of function rooms including the Dorchester Library (ideal for drinks receptions), while the attractive Osler Room, with its superb view of the garden, can accommodate up to 300 guests for dinner. On a summer’s evening, the College garden is the perfect setting for aperitifs. It also makes an excellent venue to hold a delicious barbecue! Additional elegant dining and meeting rooms are available for up to 100 guests, and the recently opened Jerwood Education Centre specialises in hi-tech training facilities.
    
New business venue Kings Place is ‘king of variety’ – a venue for business functions with a creative edge. Built within one of London’s most up-and-coming areas (King’s Cross) and designed by celebrated architects Dixon-Jones, Kings Place brings together creativity and flexibility of space. The venue offers a range of stylish and chic events spaces including a dining venue, a conference and events centre, and an office complex. Kings Place can host any type of business or social events, conferences, AGMs or awards ceremonies.
    
One Great George Street is an award-winning meeting, events and wedding venue, situated in the heart of Westminster, which offers first-class facilities and standards of service. Just a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament, this historic, four-domed Edwardian building is regarded as ‘one of London’s best kept secrets’. Its many fine rooms regularly entertain royalty, political figures, business leaders and stars of film and theatre. World news has been broken, history has been made, major business decisions have been taken and several movies and TV series; such as Ghandi, Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason, In the Loop, Kavanagh QC and Spooks – have been filmed.
    
As a well-established, versatile meeting venue, there are a total of 19 rooms, some traditional and some contemporary, with capacities from six to 400. The facilities available offer flexible space for whatever type of event being planned; whether one boardroom, or a large plenary with up to seven smaller breakout rooms, business events can easily be combined with social entertaining.
    
There are two fully-equipped theatres, with cinema-style seating for 106 delegates in the Godfrey Mitchell Theatre and 240 in the Telford Theatre. The largest room, the Great Hall, can accommodate 400 people for a standing reception or 260 for a banquet; this is followed by the state rooms on the ground floor, of which there are three interconnecting rooms perfect for the medium sized events of 100-150 guests.
In February One Great George Street won two M&IT industry awards at Bronze level for ‘Best UK venue’ and ‘Best Conference & Banqueting staff.’

Near to airports
The Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel is a versatile hotel just minutes from Heathrow airport. The award-winning hotel is stylish and richly equipped for meetings and entertaining on a small or grand scale. Dramatic spaces, distinctive design and dedicated service come together in a location that’s perfect for local, national and international events.

The Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel is one of Europe’s largest conference centres, offering a diverse range of 43 conference, meeting and event spaces, which can cater for up to 700 people. Located next to Heathrow Airport and close to the M4, the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow is ideal for any type of event.

Two of the hotels best large spaces include The Atrium which is a vast modern space, flooded with light, built in glass with cathedral-like proportions. Monumental glass columns, bridges and water by artist Andrew Moore compliment a shoal of glass fish by Iestyn Davis. There is also a dramatic underlit glass cocktail bar running the length of the Atrium. The second impressive space to highlight is the Newbury Suite which is built on a similarly monumental scale, but with a tranquil colonial mood, featuring grand architectural plants and comfortable, Edwardian furniture.

The former Millennium Dome was re-opened in June 2007 as The O2 Arena. Cited as the UK’s most exciting and technically advanced music, sport and entertainment destination, the centrepiece of the multi-million pound development is the 20,000 capacity indoor arena, the most popular music arena in the world.  
    
The O2 Arena hosted over 150 world-class music, entertainment and sport events in its first year of opening. There is also a live music venue, indigO2, with a capacity of 2,350 and The O2 bubble, a state of the art exhibition space. The British Music Experience, which opened this month, is a permanent, high-tech, interactive music exhibition. As well as the events spaces there is also an 11-screen cinema complex, and a vibrant ‘Entertainment District’ featuring a variety of bars, restaurants and leisure facilities including the newly opened 2,500 capacity nightclub, Matter.

Sports venues
Chelsea Football Club is one of the most versatile, sophisticated and well-equipped sporting events venues in London. It combines hotel bedrooms, an interactive football exhibition and adaptable meeting spaces with football from the most exciting league in the world.
    
Chelsea Football Club’s events destination offers a host of superior event facilities including 21 function rooms and 60 syndicate rooms.
    
It also has a choice of restaurants where team-building and business networking events can be hosted and a five-star spa which offers events delegates or guests a place to relax and unwind.
    
Cited as the ‘The Home of Cricket’ Lord’s is one of the most famous and historic cricket grounds in the world, it’s also a venue which has an abundance of events spaces to satisfy both large and small groups.
    
As well as being an iconic sporting destination Lord’s is also an ideal all year round business and meetings venue.
    
From the Victorian elegance of the Pavilion to the striking lines of the Investec Media Centre, Lord’s offers a wide range of meeting and events facilities that allow for flexibility and creativity.
    
Lord’s also offers a number of sports-themed team building activities including cricket clinics and cricket for beginners. The sporting activities can be built into a days meeting agenda as well an exclusive tour of Lord’s which gives visitors the opportunity see the historic venue and many of the most famous sights in world cricket.
    
Its excellent location – leafy St. John’s Wood in the heart of London – and stunning vistas of the hallowed turf, make Lord’s a unique and popular choice for any event.

Wembley Stadium
Probably one of London’s most iconic sports destinations, Wembley Stadium is known for being the home of football.
    
Built to the highest specifications and using the latest technology the venue creates an unrivalled experience. Wembley offers state-of-the-art meetings and conference facilities combined with the buzz of sporting agility. The atmosphere of Wembley Stadium is almost electric – making it the ultimate stage for major events.
    
Wembley Stadium is one of the largest and most prestigious banqueting spaces in London and is the heart of the Capital’s special events and corporate entertainment offer. The stadium’s facilities can play host to a full spectrum of special events, including banquets and gala dinners (ranging from ten to 1,900 diners), conferences and meetings (seating 170 to 1,500 delegates), awards and graduation ceremonies, corporate receptions (up to 3,250 guests), exhibitions and weddings.
    
Wembley has a range of venues from the Bobbie Moore Room, Great Hall and Atrium for large events to the Wembley Suite, Arc and The Venue which can be hired for a more intimate setting.