116 Pall Mall believe story telling is the key to booking an event

Over the last month, 116 Pall Mall has hosted a wide range of unusual events – a medical establishments 100th anniversary party, a sommelier awards, a Nigerian wedding, a sports networking event with 20+ Olympic gold medallists, a Turkish careers fair, and a women entrepreneur’s forum.

Why?

As an events booker, how do we attract you and your clients to the heart of the capital – it’s not always just about the transport links, the accommodation, or even the huge variety of bars and restaurants.

116 Pall Mall believe that in order to secure an event booking, you need to provide your client with something special to grab their attention, and let them in on the secrets that make the stunning buildings around the Palace of Westminster unique.

Is it the news stories surrounding this area? Is it Downing Street, Horse Guards, Parliament, or the small touches like the Duchess of Sussex placing her bouquet on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey? November sees the centenary of the end of WW1, perhaps add a tour of the Abbey, or the Churchill War rooms (we know, wrong war!)

Alternatively, clients could take a break from their meeting in St James Park which was the first royal park and laid as a deer park by Henry VIII. It originally contained a menagerie including camels, crocodiles, elephants and exotic birds along with what is now Birdcage Walk.

116 Pall Mall is surrounded by unique stories past and present. The original building was home to the notorious Prince Regent (George IV) and the road itself (Pall Mall) was named after the game pall-mall (Paille-Maille) played in the 17C, a precursor to the modern game croquet.

Finding the stories that make your venue special and combining them with the services and facilities that you offer means you can provide your client with the full package for their next event.

To find out more of to book, please contact 0207 451 3107 or visit our website

Gaming charity challenge leads to Midnight Madness at IET London: Savoy Place

The building at IET London: Savoy Place was transformed into a game hub as part of a 16-hour puzzle race across the capital.

As one of London’s leading STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) venues, the grade-I listed IET London: Savoy Place opened its doors for a rather bizarre, one of a kind immersive event called Midnight Madness, over the weekend of 19-20 May.

The building at Savoy Place was transformed into a game hub as part of a 16-hour puzzle race across the capital. Midnight Madness is an interactive gaming challenge, dubbed the ‘Crystal maze meets the DaVinci Code’, in aid of Raise Your Hands, which supports small, effective charities that improve the lives of children across the UK. The challenge has so far raised £210,000 for the supported small charities.

Taking place in the capital for the first time, puzzlers faced a series of fiendishly difficult activities as part of the overnight challenge, which featured over 45 actors and volunteers. 15 teams of puzzle experts passed through the doors of Savoy Place in the small hours of Sunday morning (20 May) and battled it out in a mind-bending mystery challenge.

The technical puzzle at Savoy Place took competitors over three hours to complete. Taking over the entire venue and transforming numerous exhibits and rooms with state-of-the-art AV and lighting, actors filled the venue to present clues to the teams as they navigated fake portraits to find an object hidden in the vast building.

Broadway House scoops National Venue Award

Broadway House has received the highest national acclaim with an award at the National Venue Awards.

The National Venue Award is the latest in a series of accolades Broadway House has received individually and as part of the EEF Venues Group, including Gold Standard at the highly credible bdrc Reports. The awards recognised both the group’s outstanding facilities and quality, as well as its long-term commitment and delivery of outstanding customer service.

“This is an incredibly flattering award both for Broadway House, and the rest of the EEF Venues Group,” commented Amanda Sutton, Venue Manager, Broadway House. “Many of our clients are award winners and high achievers in their own sectors of businesses, so it’s nice for them to know that their chosen venue is award winning as well.”

The National Venue Awards take place yearly and recognise the leading venues and venue brands, from across the UK. The awards are judged by an independent panel of experts who take into consideration the venue’s product and services, its approach to people, and its ethical business practices.

“We put our customers at the heart of everything we do, and even when we’re evaluated for awards recognition, we put our clients forward as references and spokespeople on how well we’re doing,” commented David Vaughton, Managing Director, EEF Venues. “The fact they’ve elevated us to such a prestigious award makes it that little bit sweeter and is a great reward for all the staff within the venues.”

ICA has latest exhibition shortlisted for Turner Prize

The latest exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts: Forensic Architecture has been nominated for the 2018 Turner Prize.

The nomination comes for their participation in documenta 14 and their solo exhibitions Counter Investigations: Forensic Architecture at the ICA in London, Forensic Architecture: Towards an Investigative Aesthetics at MACBA Barcelona and Forensic Architecture: Towards an Investigative Aesthetics at MUAC Mexico.

The jury praised Forensic Architecture for developing highly innovative methods for sourcing and visualising evidence relating to human rights abuses around the world, used in courts of law as well as exhibitions of art and architecture

Women Ahead to champion gender parity at the QEII Centre

Social enterprise Women Ahead will be celebrating the women taking part in its business mentoring scheme, at two back-to-back events held at London’s QEII Centre.

Organised by Women Ahead on behalf of the 30% Club, the cross-company mentoring programme is open to women at all levels of their careers. It provides access to male and female mentors with more than 15 years’ experience, to support their career development, with the ultimate aim of reaching board-level positions.
On Tuesday 12 June, two events will take place at the QEII Centre. The daytime event will be for the second cohort of 500 participants, who started in February 2018 and are now at the midway point, with a keynote speech from Sarah Winckless MBE, Olympic bronze medallist and double World Champion rower.

The evening event will be for 500 participants in the first cohort of the programme, which began in October 2017 and is now coming to an end. With inspirational talks from Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and founder of the 30% Club Dame Helena Morrissey, this event will focus on the next steps for graduates of the programme.

Francis Highton, events manager at Women Ahead, said: “Gender parity between women and men benefits society as a whole, which is why we believe it’s so important to offer women the support they need to climb the career ladder. Our events bring inspiring speakers from the worlds of business and sport who can motivate our mentees and motivate them to achieve great things.

“The Women Ahead mentoring scheme is growing year-on-year and with so many participants, there aren’t many venues that have the capacity to host us and are also modern and sleek enough to impress our guests. We have already had a brilliant experience hosting our February event at the QEII Centre, and we know the same standard is guaranteed for our event in June.”

Church House Westminster welcomes three prestigious charities after the London Marathon

The British Heart Foundation, The Children’s Society and Sarcoma UK all chose Church House to celebrate marathon success following the Virgin Money London Marathon.

The British Heart Foundation, The Children’s Society and Sarcoma UK all chose Church House to celebrate marathon success following the Virgin Money London Marathon.

British Heart Foundation is the UK’s number one heart charity funding cardiovascular research, through 50 years of funding cutting edge research they have already made a big difference to people’s lives. This year the charity was represented by over 400 runners aiming to raise £950,000 as vital funds for the fight against heart disease.

Karen McDonnell, Running Project Manager at British Heart Foundation, said: “We wanted to thank our runners, and their sponsors, for their efforts and the post-race event was a great way to do this. The money they have raised will help us continue pioneering research that supports people who suffer from heart disease.”

Champagne Reception and exhilarating fencing display at The Lansdowne Club

You are exclusively invited to the prestigious Lansdowne Club in London’s Mayfair for Champagne and canapés in their beautiful 18th century ballroom on Tuesday, 19 June.

The Champagne reception at The Lansdowne Club will be packed full of exciting content; an exhilarating display by the Lansdowne Ladies Fencing Team, an inspiring talk from Georgina Usher, GB fencing champion and CEO of the British Fencing Association as well as an opportunity to meet some female members of the Team GB fencing squad. You can even grab a sword and have a go yourself if you are feeling brave enough!

The evening will take place Tuesday, 19 June from 6pm – 9pm.

For more information or to book, please email [email protected]

Westminster Venue Collection highlights new members at The Meetings Show

Westminster Venue Collection will be showcasing its six new members – King’s Venues: Bush House, RSA House,116 Pall Mall, 61 Whitehall and Prince Philip House– at The Meetings Show next month. Now featuring 35 members, the marketing consortium will be demonstrating from stand J503 how finding a venue in the iconic city of Westminster has never been so easy.

From fashionable townhouses and private members’ clubs to luxury hotels, celebrated attractions, historic institutes and societies, the Westminster Venue Collection’s intuitive website provides event planners, associates and corporate buyers with an efficient way to quickly access and place enquiries with a range of premium and diverse venues to meet their exacting requirements.
Diane Waldron, chair of Westminster Venue Collection and the QEII’s sales and marketing director, said: “We are thrilled to be involved with The Meetings Show again. It always provides the perfect opportunity to not only spread the word about developments from the collection but also enables us to engage face-to-face with buyers and get a great insight into their future needs and requirements.”

She added: “We’re really looking forward to demonstrating how the collection continues to evolve with new members and how it includes venues featuring quaint and quirky meeting spaces to large-scale iconic landmarks exclusively based in Westminster. So, no matter what event is being planned, Westminster Venue Collection can provide the answer.”

The two-day show will welcome more than 2,300 event planners, from associations and agencies to the corporate and public sectors, along with more than 700 individual exhibitors from around the world. The show is the leading event for the UK inbound and outbound meetings industry and is the only industry event in the UK with a hosted buyer programme, providing exhibitors with the opportunity to book pre-arranged appointments with key buyers.