It's the season of kick-off conferences, and it's all too easy to come up short when you're vying for audiences. In our experience, having an impressive venue makes all the difference to standing out, so it's just as well we've got the holy grail of backdrops lined up!
Historic, central, and picturesque inside and out, St Mary's Venue provides the perfect balance of stunning surroundings and superb acoustics for events of all sizes. Here's why we think it's the perfect spot for an inspiring conference.
1. An ideal location
Set in the heart of Marylebone, directly between Hyde Park and Regent's Park, St Mary's Venue is in about as ideal a location as they come. On a quiet street just off busy Marylebone Road, and with Marylebone, Baker Street, Edgware Road and Marble Arch stations just a short walk away, getting here couldn't be easier for attendees. Plus with a postcode this prestigious, no one's going to want to miss the action at this event - or the nearby dinner spots afterwards!
2. Enviable spaces
You'd be hard pushed to find a venue more impressive than St Mary's auditorium for a conference. In fact, with its stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling, the main space at this venue has to be one of the most striking conference spots we've come across. Its recent £3.7m renovation has made a state-of-the-art setting for speaker events, and with Grade I-listed architecture all around, we reckon this is one conference that'll stick in attendees' minds!
As an added bonus, at St Mary's there's no need to set up the catering as your guests stand awkwardly in the same space. With the spacious Lower Floor on hand to provide a perfect breakout spot for lunch, coffees, or even workshops, each aspect of your conference can take up the space it deserves - over 780 square metres of it, in fact!
3. Impressive tech
Despite its respectable age, St Mary's Venue offers an impressive array of event technology, with an enviable in-house AV system providing top-level sound and visuals. With a powerful projector, multiple screens, and even a customisable LED installation, this venue has all the tech at hand to keep your conference running like clockwork!
4. Versatile Floor Arrangements
Whether you're planning a large annual conference for hundreds of delegates, or a smaller affair that requires a more intimate space, St Mary's Venue can be tailored to provide the perfect setting for your event. With an auditorium that can seat 700, plus space for an additional 200 on the balcony level, there's the option of several configurations to fit your event format in the auditorium (not to mention the Lower Ground space, which also has an independent claim to being a superb space for a conference).
And if you need additional space, three medium-sized meeting rooms adjoining the main spaces provide ample room for discussions and networking. With all of these spaces available for your conference, it's up to you how to structure the event, and the added flexibility and space will allow delegates to be sufficiently distanced if required by regulations.
5. Ideal for hybrid events
Finally, it's important to keep in mind that in the current environment, not everyone will be comfortable attending conferences in person, or may be unable to attend due to having to isolate. Because of this, we recommend that large events of this kind should have the option for delegates to attend remotely, on a virtual or hybrid events platform - for more guidance, check out our ultimate guide to hybrid events.
Luckily, St Mary's Venue is an ideal venue for live streaming your conference from, with excellent acoustics and natural lighting making the experience for remote viewers equally engaging. With the right hybrid event platform, you can even make remote audiences feel like they're in the room, which, in the case of this venue, is sure to earn you serious points!
If you're looking to stand out this season, St Mary's Venue is sure to stand you in good stead. With elegant architecture and great facilities to match, you can't go wrong with a conference here, so get in touch to enquire about availability today. Looking for something different? Check out some of our other top conference venues instead.
Author
Jessamy Cowie
Jessamy channels her passion for sustainability and cultural events into shining a spotlight on innovation and inspiration in the events world, and heading up Hire Space's sustainability committee.
