CITY
GUIDE:
UNIQUE
LONDON
CAPITAL IDEAS
Unique Venues of London is celebrating its 25th
anniversary, and Access asks how events have evolved
in that time, with insights from its member venues
and some of London’s suppliers.
Founding father
Back in 1993, Ian
Lovat Fraser, Founder
of Unique Venues of
London, called upon
other venues to come
together and form an
association, which has
played a pivotal role in
supporting some of the
capital’s most iconic
buildings. Essentially,
he says, this is down to
the suppliers and venue
managers:
“Their willingness
to always say ‘yes’, no
matter what the client
request, has been a
factor which has been
influential in both the
success of the association
itself and contributed to
the growth in popularity
of using unique spaces to
host events of all kinds.
The daring attitude
of these pioneering
venue managers is to
be celebrated and I’m
looking forward to seeing
what the next decade
brings, in both creativity
and flexibility.”
38
Wired science
When it comes to
technology, Lorna
Hutchman, Event and
Marketing Executive,
at Science Museum has
noticed how much more
of an integral role this
now plays in events:
“Over the past 25
years the conference and
business events sector
has boomed considerably.
More recently, there have
been noticeable changes
where organisers are
being more mindful
of content, delegate
wellbeing and ensuring
that meetings have
added value for all
involved. With an
increase in demand for
built-in technology, the
Science Museum are
launching a brand-new
progressive events space,
Illuminate. Opening 1st
February 2019, this will
feature state-of-the-art
audio-visual capabilities,
enabling guests to avail
of more choice than
ever when it comes to
production.”
Natural evolution
When it comes to
the client-supplier
relationship, operations
manager at Natural
History Museum, Nigel
Mullins, highlights how
this has evolved over the
last 25 years:
“We introduced 6 and
12-month reviews with
all of them, to catch up
on what they were up
to and what they were
doing within other parts
of their business that we
could also think about
implementing. And more
importantly asking
them for feedback about
us. Are we doing things
right for you? Are you
having difficulties in
delivering an event here?
Do we need to check
any of our processes
and procedures? We
can better support our
partners when they come
in to do events, because
we have that ongoing
relationship with
suppliers, which makes
it easier for them to work
here.”
“Now we consult
suppliers and create an
open dialogue whereas
25 years ago we were still
learning and it was less of
a two way relationship.”
Brexit strategy
Brexit brings with a time of uncertainty and
change for everyone, and Lorraine Thorne, venue
sales manager, at Royal Horticultural Halls, says how
important it is for the industry to pull together and
flexibility is key:
“I have also seen the whole industry becoming a lot
more friendly – everyone realises there could be tough
times ahead with Brexit so they want to pull together
to ensure the London events industry continues to
thrive and grow. As a venue I do not think I have ever
had so many referrals from other venues – and we are
always glad to return the favour.”
“Everyone will probably state the obvious that
lead times are getting shorter and shorter as clients
budgets get authorised later and later but with all the
competition and new venues opening virtually every
week in London – venues are having to more flexible
than ever to win the business.”