Westminster Venue Collection Announces Showcase Event Theme ‘History on Every Corner’

The Westminster Venue Collection is thrilled to unveil the theme for its highly anticipated annual showcase event: ‘History on Every Corner.’ 

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich history and timeless elegance of our magnificent Westminster venues. Join us as we explore the captivating stories that weave through the streets, squares, and buildings of Westminster, London’s historic heart.

Embrace the Past to Inspire Your Future Events in Westminster

At Westminster Venue Collection, we understand the power of history in creating unforgettable experiences. Our curated selection of prestigious venues boasts a remarkable heritage, with each location holding the key to countless captivating tales. From Thames water-front venues to Georgian townhouses with outstanding views. By choosing ‘History on Every Corner’ as our showcase event theme, we aim to inspire event planners like you to tap into the allure of the past when crafting extraordinary corporate events.

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Step into Timeless Venues and Experience Living History

Imagine hosting your next corporate event in a venue that has witnessed centuries of impactful moments. From iconic landmarks like the Houses of Parliament to hidden gems like One Birdcage Walk, our collection of venues offers you the opportunity to provide a unique event experience like no other. Whether it’s the opulence of a grand ballroom or the intimacy of a historic townhouse, each space tells its own unique story, adding depth and character to your event.

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Uncover Hidden Gems and Exclusive Westminster Venues

With ‘History on Every Corner,’ we invite you to discover the hidden gems nestled within the tapestry of Westminster. Explore remarkable venues tucked away from the tourist trail, offering an exclusive experience for your guests. These hidden treasures hold the potential to elevate your events to new heights, providing an intimate atmosphere and an air of exclusivity that will leave a lasting impression on event attendees.

Tailor Your Event to Reflect the Venue’s Legacy

One of the greatest advantages of hosting an event within historical venues is the ability to infuse your theme with its rich legacy. From incorporating period-specific decor and detailing to designing activities that pay homage to the venue’s history, you have countless opportunities to create an immersive experience for your attendees. By far the greatest surprise to clients who choose a Westminster venue is just how much they can tailor the venue to suit the brief and theme.

Whether you’re looking for conference and meeting venues in Westminster, exquisite and unique venues for a party or celebration, or modern spaces for team-building events. Host your next event in the iconic Westminster, London.

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We look forward to welcoming many of you to the annual Westminster Venue Showcase event, ‘History on Every Corner’.

Tuesday 12th September 2023, at London Transport Museum.

Complete your request for attendance here.

New interactive installation at London Transport Museum will take families on a ‘Green Journey’ this summer

This summer London Transport Museum is welcoming families to explore a new interactive ‘Green Journey’ installation that will get visitors thinking about climate change, the role of transport in creating a sustainable city, and how we can all do our bit to ensure a greener future. A green themed trail around the Museum galleries and creative workshops will also run throughout the holidays, helping young visitors to learn about these big concepts in a fun and family-friendly way.

Visitors to The Green Journey installation will be able to explore four themed, hands-on areas to learn about topics such as global warming and its effects on London, the solutions from big businesses that are already underway to help tackle it – such as Transport for London’s hydrogen buses – as well as new green jobs and the people behind them. The space will also help families discover the small changes we can make at home to be more eco-friendly.

Family workshops inspired by the themes of the Green Journey space will also take place on selected dates throughout the holidays. Five workshops will run per day, suitable for children 8-14 years old:

  • Climate Calling: selected dates between 23 July – 4 August (23, 26, 28, 30 July and 2, 4 Aug). Learn about the ways climate change affects our city and the role of transport in providing the solution – from TfL’s new hydrogen buses that are helping make London’s air cleaner, to the active travel choices we can all make when getting from A to B. Create your own Climate Calling board game inspired by what you’ve learnt.
  • Future Innovators: selected dates between 6 – 18 August (6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19 August). What will life in our city look like in the future? What jobs will exist and what skills will we need? Hear about real-life climate change innovators and explore the skills we are going to need to help tackle climate change in the future. Then create your very own climate change super-hero. Let your imagination lead the way.
  • Activate: selected dates between 20 August – 1 September (20, 23, 25, 27, 30 Aug and 1 September). We all have a role to play in tackling climate change. Discover the small ways you can do your bit to make London greener and create your own set of Family Action Cards to get inspired.

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These summer activities are part of London Transport Museum’s 18-month Climate Crossroads programme supported by Mastercard, Mott MacDonald, Cubic Transportation Systems and Sopra Steria. The programme aims to create experiences that get people thinking about what the future of our city could look like and inspired by the great engineering ingenuity of London’s past and also explores what innovations, skills and jobs we need to build this sustainable future.

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 August, London Transport Museum will also be hosting Mastercard’s Girls4Tech STEM workshops in the main Museum gallery. Children can drop-into sessions on Cryptology and Big Data, learning about these topics through fun, problem-solving games. The Girls4Tech workshops will be run by Mastercard staff, looking to inspire the next generation to pursue a STEM career.

While at the Museum, families can also see real buses, trams and Tube trains from 200 years of the capital’s transport history. They can learn how to drive a modern-day Elizabeth line train in the Future Engineers gallery and climb aboard a fleet of mini vehicles in the All Aboard play zone.

Between 11:00 and 15:00, visitors can head to Canteen, the Museum’s café by popular eatery Benugo, for a bite to eat, and choose from exclusive transport inspired toys, gifts, homeware, poster artwork and games in the Museum’s shop.

Timed tickets to visit London Transport Museum can be booked online in advance. Adult tickets are £21 and allow free return day-time entry for a whole year. Plus, kids go free!

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE

Discover Westminster; Showcase Success!

We have long been known for our fantastic Westminster Venue Showcase events and this year was no exception!! The 26th of May 2022 marked the occasion of our Discover Westminster; Around Westminster Venues in 80 minutes, showcase event and how special for us all to be back together and what a fantastic evening it was!

Located at the Royal Society, one of our fabulous member venues, it was great to be back hosting a face-to-face event – You could feel the excitement amongst all. This elegant setting really set the scene and created the perfect backdrop for the occasion.

The showcase was attended by event professionals from London and beyond for the opportunity to celebrate and explore our unique consortium of Westminster’s finest venues. It was amazing to see them all showing off their venues and event packages to new and potential clients. Our venue collection includes a wide variety of venue types and styles, all with their own fascinating backstory and many with historic significance.

Originally home to the United Services Club, Georgian venue 116 Pall Mall was designed by John Nash, and this Grade I listed venue still contains many of the club’s original treasures. Then we move to The Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn. Their Great Hall was opened by Queen Victoria, and not to mention, Edwardian venue One Great George Street, 18th Century RSA House, and the world-famous Houses of Parliament.

The recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place throughout the city have seen these spectacular venues celebrated in all their glory, which has led to more enquiries, but let’s not forget the incredible modern venues within the collection. The QEII Centre got the chance to boast their cutting-edge AV facilities, essential for delivering live and engaging hybrid and studio events. The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton, showcased their stylish conference spaces and luxurious rooms for overnight stays. And if you’re looking for big screen events, Vue West End have got you covered!

We were also joined by key industry suppliers, including Frew & Co rolled ice cream. Their fun and refreshing treats are perfect for outdoor summer events. The talented chefs at the Royal Society also made an appearance to showcase some sweet offerings. Dan and the team plated up a feast for the eyes, demonstrating some impressive techniques, including dry ice!

Thank you to all who attended, and especially to Barbara Wutte and her team at the Royal Society for helping our board and the Paje team to organise the event, it wouldn’t have been a success without all those involved. The drinks were flowing and the delicious canapes went down a treat, and it was fantastic to see members sharing their images across social media.

“We are so excited about the future, we have new members joining our collection, new initiatives planned by the enthusiastic board and Paje Team and our venues are back to business at 2019 levels again!  We look forward to working with you over the coming months and celebrating just how amazing London and our wonderful Westminster Collection are!”  –  Rachel Azzopardi, Chair of Westminster Venue Collection.

Our experienced sales marketing and PR partners are here to support with enquiries and help you find the best space for your events. If you’re looking to book last minute summer parties, our venues have some stunning, private outdoor spaces available for hire, right in the heart of the Capital. Contact us today and we’ll help you find the perfect fit for your occasion.

Cavendish Venues showcase at Buyers Network Club

Cavendish Venues exhibited at the Buyers Network Club (BNC), securing 31 enquiries and generating 260 new contacts.

The event, which took place last month at The Brewery, offers a great opportunity to network with other event professionals. Paul Martins and Mariam Khan were delighted to speak to so many event buyers on Cavendish Venues’ stand.

Church House Westminster heads Stateside for IMEX America

Seeking to build on its international business, Church House Westminster will be exhibiting at IMEX America from 10-12 October at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Las Vegas

Exhibiting with London & Partners (B2416), visitors to IMEX – America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events – will have the opportunity to learn more about how Church House can provide the ideal backdrop for international events, with 19 flexible event spaces including its largest, and most impressive space, the Assembly Hall which has the capacity for up to 664 people.

One of London’s true hidden gems, the Grade II Listed building was designed by the renowned architect, Sir Herbert Baker. Hosting a wide variety of events from multi-day conferences to gala dinners and award ceremonies. Previous events include The International Somali Awards, Spectator Events, InfoComm International, international medical conferences and fashion shows.

Robin Parker, general manager of Church House Westminster commented: “Attending exhibitions is one of the most important parts of our business development strategy. IMEX America provides us with an excellent platform to promote ourselves overseas and we are looking forward to giving the American market a glimpse of our facilities as well as our first-class levels of customer service.”

For more information about Church House Westminster or to book you next event, please contact [email protected].

 

See you at Square Meal

WVC will be exhibiting at Square Meal Venues and Events Live for the very first time this year.

Taking place at Old Billingsgate, London, on 20 and 21 September, we will be located at stand number G32 and representatives from our member venues will be ready and waiting to help you save time while finding the very best Westminster venue for your next event.

Visitors to our stand will also get their hands on the hottest ticket in town – an invite to our spooktacular Hallo-Westminster showcase on October 24 at One Great George Street.

Entry to the event is free and you can register to attend here. We look forward to seeing you there!

The benefits of being part of a venue collection from One Great George Street

Being a stand-alone, independent venue is not always easy. While it definitely has its advantages, such as full control over day-to-day management and procurement which allows us to pass on the very best produce and services to our clients, we do everything ourselves without the helping hand of a sister organisation. Without drawing on a larger pool of manpower, Marion and I need to be selective in choosing which trade shows, forums and networking events will best showcase our fabulous venue, One Great George Street (OGGS).

We jumped on The Westminster Collection (TWC) bandwagon 5 years ago and are still current members due to the excellent ROI we receive year on year. For example, in the last 12 months we have received approximately 77 referrals and confirmed over £25,000 worth of business – a very healthy return on our membership fee of just £1,700! There’s also very real value in the affordable access the collection gives us to exhibition shows, FAM trips and networking events.

For example, The Meetings Show is a very popular industry trade show which we try to attend as part of TWC (offered on a first-come-first-serve basis). It takes place once a year, attracts over 3,000 industry professionals and provides us with pre-scheduled buyer appointments. This year we received 17 new enquiries and over 300 scanned leads which we are now in the process of prospecting for new OGGS business. This is a free event which has provided me with over 300 fresh contacts – sounds too good to be true right? But it’s true and it’s great! The next event will be TWC’s very own showcase which takes place on Monday 3rd October – sign up to our newsletters for more info.

When contemplating the advantages of joining a collection, I can say that One Great George Street has been able to utilize collections such as The Westminster Collection to support us with sales opportunities and also become part of a friendly and constructive environment with our competitors and industry peers.

Please find the original blog post from One Great George Street here.

Central Hall Westminster launches new virtual reality experience in China

Central Hall Westminster announced the launch of its new virtual reality (VR) experience during a week-long visit to China.

It was showcased at the IT&CM Exhibition Shanghai, the Department of Commerce in Zhejiang Province and at a meeting with the team at Alibaba HQ Hangzhou.

Central Hall’s new virtual reality technology aims to showcase the venue’s versatility and range of event spaces to both international and UK buyers. The VR experience not only enables viewers to get a 360 degree view of the event spaces on offer throughout the central London venue in a virtual show-round, but also features a variety of live events scenarios as a fully immersive viewing experience. VR live events include the BBC’s New Year’s Bryan Adam’s concert 2015, amongst other high profile events.

Paul Southern, Managing Director at Central Hall Westminster, said: “This has been an exciting development for us at Central Hall. Our ability to harness this technology and connect the venue to the most remote places in China, and indeed anywhere else in the world we take it, is an extraordinary advance within our sales process. We anticipate that this will help to strengthen our position within the Chinese market as we continue to develop relationships in this sector.”

Maria Schuett, Head of Marketing at Central Hall Westminster, added: “The objective is to support our clients to conceptualise their ideas within our flexible event spaces, not replace the physical experience. The new virtual reality package, showcasing various layouts, productions and visual settings, adds a new dimension to those earlier discussions with clients.”

The VR experience has been created by Trek Wireless, creators of interactive digital assets for the retail and hospitality industries that work seamlessly across PC, tablet, mobile and VR devices. For further information about Central Hall’s virtual reality offering please visit https://www.c-h-w.com/vr.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

The Meetings Show – coming soon!

Visitor registration for The Meetings Show has opened at www.themeetingsshow.com/open. Building on the success of last year, visitors to the show will benefit from an enhanced experience from the moment they walk through the doors at Olympia, London, from 7-9 July.

In particular, the education programme will address issues faced by agencies, corporates, associations, PCOs, AMCs, PAs and key sectors such as healthcare and technology. In addition to the dedicated Association Meetings Conference on 6 July, the education will include keynote sessions, seminars and Meet the Expert roundtables throughout the three days of the show.

With a growing exhibitor list, made up of more than 400 exhibiting companies, visitors will be able to meet with the UK’s largest collection of meeting industry organisations under one roof including: major domestic and international destinations, venues, hotel groups, DMCs, trade associations and suppliers.

Exhibitor highlights include The Westminster Collection on stand G19, London & Partners, Hilton Worldwide, Meet Birmingham, Accor Hotels and Tourism Ireland.

The Meetings Show’s Event Director Steve Knight says: “The Meetings Show is organised by meeting professionals, for meeting professionals, a fact that is demonstrated through both the calibre of our exhibitors and the quality of our education programme. If meetings are key to your business you will find the suppliers you want to see and education designed for your needs at our event.”

Applications for The Meetings Show’s hosted buyer programme are also open. Applicants will be reviewed by a team of expert qualifiers and benefit from scheduled meetings with organisations of their choosing, complimentary travel and accommodation, transportation to Olympia from host hotels and networking venues, as well as a choice of hosted buyer lounges complete with refreshments.

The Meetings Show is the premier event for the UK inbound and outbound meetings industry, organised by Centaur Exhibitions and taking place 7-9 July 2015 at Olympia, London. Organised by meeting professionals for meeting professionals it is focused around a large exhibition, networking opportunities and professional education. Click here to register and book your appointment with The Westminster Collection, where you can find out about our free venue enquiry service spanning more than 35 unique venues within Zone 1 London.