A CITY FOR EVERY OCCASION
In the run-up to 2012, London is working to showcase its capabilities by hosting a series of major events.
Three million visitors descended on the capital on a single weekend in July 2007 for the Live Earth Concert, the Tour de France and the Wimbledon tennis finals. Sporting events in partnership with the NFL and NBA – as well as the 2008 MPI European Meetings and Events Conference, which will bring about 800 planners from around the world to London – give the city further opportunity to showcase its offerings. “We’re trying to build a legacy that shows London
can stage world-class events,” says Visit London UK sales manager Zanine Adams.”
A PRACTICAL CITY
An accessible city, boasting five airports, nine mainline rail stations and great road
connections, making it an ideal hub for both national and global events. It currently
has more than 100,000 hotel rooms, from two to five-star. This is expected to rise to 120,000
rooms by 2012, and Adams says a number of these are capable of taking group allocations
of around 200 delegates for large events.
A GREEN CITY
Not many people know that open space accounts for 30 per cent of the London area. This
includes 147 registered parks and gardens, and eight Royal Parks. There are event spaces
within many of these, as well as at gardens such as Kew and Hampton Court Palace.
“We’re trying to encourage people not just to look at the venues themselves but at the city as a whole, and the spaces outside the venues,” says Adams. “We can work with event managers to help them get access to spaces such as the Royal Parks that they might not normally be able to.”
A SUSTAINABLE CITY
Keeping with the green theme, London’s events industry is doing its bit for the environment, with many event planners and venues getting involved in making their properties and events more sustainable. For example, Excel London has introduced a CSR push aimed at eventually
making the venue carbon-negative. It includes the introduction of a wormery to turn waste food from its events into compost, and an environmental penalty scheme to discourage clients from using non-recyclable products at the venue.
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
When it comes to entertaining, London is not short on options for a night out. There are more than 6,000 restaurants in London, of which 43 are Michelinstarred, and 70 types of international cuisine.
There are also a host of corporate hospitality options for entertaining, including Shakespeare at London is the open-air theatre in Regent’s Park, and cinema at Somerset House in the summer – not to mention the many shows in the West End, and countless bars throughout the city for
those who want to party through the night.
