Covent Garden’s most exciting venues announce breakfast showcase

On 26 January 2016, London Transport Museum and London Film Museum are joining forces to present a morning of discovery for curious event planners interested in booking these iconic visitor attractions for future corporate and private events. The two-part breakfast showcase is open to all professional event planners and agencies.

LTM
After completion of a two-year £22.4 million investment and redevelopment project, London Transport Museum offers a modern and dramatic venue for a wide range of events. Located in the heart of Covent Garden under the glass roof and cast iron pillars of the Victorian Flower Market, the original features of this stunning Grade II listed building create an ornate backdrop for the Museum’s contemporary galleries.

The Museum galleries provide a spectacular backdrop for evening receptions and dinner parties, mixing old and new with dynamic displays of iconic posters, vintage vehicles and interactive displays that entertain all evening. Watch in awe as stunning projections of colour and light reveal the complexity of London’s transport networks.

Use the giant central screen to project your own imagery and branding and wow guests upon arrival with themed cocktails such as the Routemaster, Metropolitan Mixture or the Anorak. Enjoy delicious and contemporary style dishes, complimented by discreet, personal service. Then bid your guests farewell with a stylish gift from the Museum shop – the perfect memento of a fabulous event.

The Museum galleries can hold up to 500 people for a drinks reception or 180 people for a seated dinner. Your guests will arrive via the impressive multimedia World Cities Gallery and will have access to the entire Museum.

LFM
Across Covent Garden’s cobblestone Piazza is London Film Museum, currently home to Bond in Motion and a new display called The Cars of SPECTRE, the first UK exhibition of vehicles, props, models and costumes from the latest film release, including amongst others James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10, villain Hinx’s Stunt Jaguar C-X75 and Franz Oberhauser’s Rolls Royce Wraith.

The stunning 15,000 square foot exhibition space, which sits in Covent Garden’s former Flower Cellars, gives clients the opportunity to host a variety of fantastic events surrounded by Bond’s best sidekicks, his cars.

The space is available for exclusive hire with full-day museum closure possible. Inside, the team can cater for any event up to 450 guests and with two entrances on Wellington Street and Covent Garden’s Piazza, the London Film Museum is the ultimate destination for a unique event.

The professional and experienced events team can produce large scale events effortlessly and is on hand to work closely with clients from start to finish, offering advice on everything from catering and lighting to visual effects and staffing.

LFM entrance
London Film Museum is the perfect ‘wow factor’ event destination for spectacular product launches, exhibitions, awards and film premieres, through to more intimate private events like cocktail parties.

The morning showcase event, taking place from 08:30 – 10:00am on Tuesday 26 January, is exclusively reserved for event planners and event agencies. To request your invitation to attend, please email [email protected]. Please note that places will be allocated subject to qualifying criteria.

British Academy’s new Library launches for event bookings

{10-11} Carlton House Terrace, home of the British Academy, is delighted with the addition of the Lee Library to its room collection. Situated on the ground floor, in the South West Corner of the venue overlooking The Mall, this impressive event space has high ceilings and large windows allowing an abundance of natural daylight to flood in. With book-lined walls filled with academic literature dating back to 1902, this inspiring space is designed to allow your creativity to flourish.

The new event space can accommodate up to 60 people theatre style, 100 people for a stand-up reception and up to 60 people for a sit-down dinner. The room has the added advantage of adjoining the Reading Room giving the spaces much more flexibility and capacity. Delegates can enjoy the use of complimentary wifi and audio visual services are available on request.

The new Library is licensed for civil marriage ceremonies and civil partnerships, with full wheelchair accessibility and guide dogs allowed.

Explore The Library here and for further information email [email protected] or call 020 7969 5224.

{10-11} Carlton House Terrace was built during the late 1820s and early 1830s on land previously occupied by Carlton House, the residence of the Prince Regent, who became George IV. The neoclassical terrace was conceived by architect John Nash with two aims in mind: to provide good views of St James’s Park for residents and to provide an impressive backdrop to both the Royal Park and the Mall.

As soon as it was finished, Carlton House Terrace became one of the most fashionable addresses in London. {10-11} was home to the Ridley and Guinness families, and also William Gladstone, Prime Minister, who occasionally held Cabinet meetings there. Although it was damaged during World War II, much of the interior of Number 10 has survived from the early years of the 20th century. Both 10 and 11 have benefited from recent refurbishment.

New light festival Lumiere London to illuminate capital’s landmarks

See some of the best landmarks and attractions in Westminster lit up in spectacular fashion next week, as the capital illuminates for Lumiere London, a new and free light festival. From 14-17 January 2016, Lumiere London brings together some of the world’s most exciting artists working with light. Expect large-scale video-mapped projections, interactive pieces and jaw-dropping installations, transforming many of the capital’s most iconic streets and buildings in the West End and King’s Cross.

Lumiere London Elephantastic

Amongst sights to see is Elephantastic by Catherine Garret and Top’là Design. Emerging stomping from a cloud of dust, an enormous elephant makes his slow, and heavy journey through the archways of Air Street. This extraordinary animated projection brings the sounds of the jungle to Central London as he trumpets his way through the Regent Street area.

Lumiere London BAFTA

At BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, experience an exploration of different genres of cinema and television using images from BAFTA’s archive. The visuals hark back to the origins of 195 Piccadilly as the home of the Royal Society of Watercolour Painters. The animation, by motion design experts NOVAK, is accompanied by a striking soundtrack, created by Ed Carter and inspired by the classic sounds that helped define these genres of film and television.

Lumiere London neon dogs

In the heart of ‘Theatreland’, Neon Dogs by Deepa Mann-Kler brings together 12 neon dogs inspired by balloon dogs at children’s parties. Grouped together near Trafalgar Square, these colourful canines, complete with bones, leads and dog mess, bring out the big kid inside all of us. Deepa Mann-Kler first produced this installation for Lumiere Derry~Londonderry in 2013, and has a growing interest in working with neon.

Lumiere London lightbenches

Nestled amongst Mayfair’s world famous Michelin-starred restaurants, including Le Gavroche, Kai, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and Fera at Claridge’s, is Lightbenches by Bernd Spiecker for LBO LichtBankObjekte. Illuminating the park benches of Grosvenor Square, this is street furniture with a difference, a unique resting point that transforms the concept of public seating. Lit by hundreds of LEDs, the Lightbench allows you to take the weight off your feet and strike up a conversation with a stranger.

Bernd Spiecker’s first bench was made in 1982 using acrylic material. He has since developed the idea of Lightbenches, seeing them as symbols of recreation. He plans to build 100 across the world in the hope that they will bring people together in conversation.

The four-day Lumiere London light festival runs from 14-17 January across Piccadilly, Regent Street and St James’s, Trafalgar Square and Westminster, Mayfair and King’s Cross. The easiest, most leisurely way to discover the spectacular installations at Lumiere London 2016 is by foot. Download the map or get the app for your iPhone or Android device.

8 Northumberland launches Enchanted Forest Christmas theme for 2016

You may still be trying to shake the post-Christmas haze and focus your mind on the day job but at 8 Northumberland Avenue, Christmas 2016 is already wrapped up. So why not get your 2016 party planning sorted now while the festive feel-good vibes are still fresh?

Launching not one but two incredible show-stopping themes, 8 Northumberland has pulled out all the stops to make Christmas 2016 one to remember.

Step into the magical ‘Enchanted Forest’ through twinkling branches, heavy with snow and cracked bark. Beyond this be led to the forest clearing complete with hanging lanterns and foliage.
The grandeur of the Ballroom is enhanced with foliage draped across the chandeliers and flowing down the walls and a sumptuous enchanted dinner will be served as the chandeliers twinkle through the foliage overhead and create a grand yet ethereal atmosphere.

If something a little more mysterious is what you are looking for then consider ‘House of Clues’. Venture through the heavy curtain of secrets into the grand space that is the House of Clues, where you will enjoy a fabulous evening of decadence.

Start the evening with a glass of bubbles, known to the staff of the mansion as ‘truth serum’, perfect for such a clandestine situation as this. The tables are adorned with objects from around the mansion, which reveal its history and secrets. Candles flicker on the tables as alluring scents from the kitchens tempt tastebuds, before dinner is served. After dinner we invite you to continue with drinks and dancing as you ‘pick your poison’ from the bar and then relax in the old Library.

So if you are looking for a central London venue and a truly out of the ordinary Christmas party in 2016, look no further than 8 Northumberland Avenue. To find out more click here.