Top 5 Large Conference and Meeting Venues In London

Written on 16th February 2011 by Matthew

Watching the Brit Awards 2011 last night at its new home of the O2 Arena made me think about some of the truly large conference and meeting venues that are available in London. So here is a rundown of the top 5.

Coming in first place with a conference capacity of over 20,000 is ExCeL London. Billing itself as the largest and most versatile space in London it has a dedicated conference suite that can host up to 1100 delegates along with 45 meeting rooms. So not just a venue when you have a massive event but a venue for any event. http://www.excel-london.co.uk/

Next is last night’s venue used for the Brits, the O2 Arena. On top of the main arena space that can host up to 20,000 delegates it has 3 additional spaces that can be hired seating up to 100 theatre style or 600 for a reception. To give some idea of the scale of the venue it claims to be equal in size to 13 Royal Albert Halls. http://www.theo2.co.uk/

Alexandra Palace comes in 3^rd position with space for 7,250 delegates. Steeped in history this venue has two large halls, a four room suite and a restaurant. If you want a large venue with some great outdoor space this is the one for you with unspoilt parkland for activities and even a boating lake.  http://www.alexandrapalace.com/

The Royal Albert Hall with conference space for over 5,000 comes in 4^th position. On top of the main hall it also has a number of additional spaces which can host up to 300 people for sit down events including a gallery and even the Royal Retiring Room (yes it is used by the Queen when she visits) http://www.royalalberthall.com/

Last of the top 5 is Battersea Evolution which claims to have space for 3,500 delegates. I found the 5^th spot in this list quite hard to track down as there are a lot of London venues with capacities around this amount so I hope I have this right (Hammersmith Apollo has 3,417). Situated in the centre of Battersea Park Evolution has flexible spaces to hire out and is most commonly used as a party venue. http://www.batterseaevolution.co.uk/

If you are looking for large hotel conference venues the two of the biggest are the Hilton London Metropole with capacity for 1,600 and the Sofitel London Heathrow with capacity for 1,700. http://www.hilton.co.uk/londonmet / http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-6214-sofitel-london-heathrow/index.shtml