London groups seeking quintessential English flavor for their agenda have two options just ahead. Coinciding with this month’s release of the 24th James Bond film, Spectre, Madame Tussauds London is debuting a wax display of all six actors to play 007, which will then tour the museum’s worldwide locations. Opening next April at the esteemed event-magnet Saatchi Gallery, Exhibitionism is the first-ever international retrospective on the almost inexplicably still-active English rock icons The Rolling Stones.
As England continues to attract significant international business, medical and scientific groups, the country is keeping pace with major developments such as the stunning new Exhibition Centre Liverpool. Yet, England’s enduring charm comes equally from its myriad original, hallmark venues and experiences.
“The mix of old and new is a vital part of England’s appeal,” says Simon Gidman, VisitEngland’s London-based head of business visits and events. “The combination of investing in the future with our unique history and heritage really helps give the country an edge above the competition.”
From a field of many, here are seven venues and experiences that each, in its own way, tells an essential part of the English story.
TWICKENHAM STADIUM, LONDON
Last month, rugby came home as the 2015 World Cup got underway in 11 English cities, plus Cardiff in Wales. The hosts include the town of Rugby in Warwickshire, where in 1823 rebellious schoolboy William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a football match and birthed the sport. Another is 82,000-seat Twickenham Stadium, the official home of England rugby since 1909.
Home to the World Rugby Museum, the stadium’s versatility extends to concerts and other non-rugby events, guided tours and impressive “Twickenham Experience” group services and facilities.
These include 25 dedicated conference and event rooms, 15,000 square feet of integrated conference and exhibition space, tiered auditorium seating for 550 and banqueting suites for up to 800 guests. The stadium’s meetings-capable London Marriott Hotel Twickenham has 156 rooms, including suites overlooking the pitch.
CONCORDE CONFERENCE CENTER, MANCHESTER
From 1976 to 2003, British Airways’ Concorde jet epitomized supersonic English cool in the skies. With a takeoff speed of 250mph and Mach 2 cruising speed of 1,350mph—more than twice the speed of sound—the plane made transatlantic crossings a breeze, averaging around 3.5 hours from New York to London.
The carrier’s seven Concorde aircraft have since been dispersed for preservation to locations that include Heathrow Airport, Edinburgh, New York, and at this unique hangar facility in Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. Meetings and events for up to 750 people are staged underneath the jet’s body and wings, with other programs including guided tours.
TITANIC HOTEL LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL
Long before the Beatles put Liverpool on the global map, this legendary Merseyside city boasted one of the world’s mightiest ports. During the 19th century, the rum and tobacco imported here made Liverpool wealthier than London, earning it the title “Second City of the Empire.”
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This powerful economy produced pioneering, often “titanic” infrastructure such as the Stanley Dock complex, where ongoing redevelopment includes the transformation of the 1854 North Warehouse into the five-star, 153-room Titanic Hotel Liverpool.
Offering dining, bar and spa concepts, the massive property is adjoined by the circa-1950s Rum Warehouse. Impressive in its own right, this high-tech conference, banqueting and exhibition venue can seat 1,560 delegates over two levels, with room for up to 1,000 in one space.
DUKES LONDON
Martini connoisseurs—and 007 aficionados—will find a first-class seat at the bar of this elegant St. James hotel, near to Buckingham Palace. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, was once a regular, and according to legend conceived of 007’s immortal “shaken, not stirred” line here.
Don’t plan on having more than one of star bar manager Alessandro Palazzi’s super-chilled, high-octane martinis, including the classic “shaken not stirred” and the new Fleming 89, created in collaboration with London-based perfumery Floris, whose “89” Eau de Cologne was worn by James Bond.
With 75 rooms and 15 suites, including the Penthouse overlooking Green Park, Dukes London also offers a collection of elegant spaces for meetings and private dining, accommodating from 10 to 100 guests.
THE SAGE GATESHEAD, NEWCASTLE
One of the world’s foremost architects, Manchester-born Sir Norman Foster has been creating striking designs around the world since the 1960s. These include signature English projects such as the redesigned Wembley Stadium, home of English football; the gherkin-shaped Swiss Re tower in London; and his first-ever performance arts center, Sage Gateshead in Newcastle.
Seemingly shrink-wrapped in a shell of steel and glass, the internationally renowned riverfront venue ranks among the U.K.’s most popular destinations for conferences and events.
The main halls—Sage One, seating 1,640 guests, and 10-sided Sage Two, accommodating 400 people—both offer world-class acoustics and are complemented by rentable rehearsal, performance, meeting and breakout rooms, plus four bars, a cafe and a restaurant.
BRIGHTON ROYAL PAVILION, BRIGHTON
An hour south of London by train, seaside Brighton, with its promenade and iconic Victorian-era pier, has been a fabled escape since 1750. Now the leading conference destination in southeast England, the city’s allure includes the magical Royal Pavilion.
Synonymous with Brighton’s identity since its completion in 1823, King George IV’s pleasure palace took 35 years to build. Evolving from a modest lodging house into a monument of style and ingenuity defined by its Chinese- and Indian-inspired design, the Pavilion today is a joyful choice for after-hours tours, corporate events, social functions and more.
The Pavilion’s once mighty stables today house two other event-capable venues, the Brighton Museum and Brighton Dome concert hall.
BELMOND BRITISH PULLMAN, LONDON
Groups can discover the romance of the rails—an absolute English obsession—via diverse excursions aboard gloriously restored Pullmans from the Golden Age of Travel. Regarded as “palaces on wheels” in their heyday of the 1920s and 1930s, these carriages once transported royalty, film stars and heads of state.
All departing from London’s Victoria Station, round-trip experiences range from journeys to historic cities such as Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury and York to private black-tie dinners. Ideal for incentive travel and business events, groups from four to 30 people can charter individual compartments, single carriages or the entire train.
Specialized programs include The Golden Age of Travel by Steam, a steam locomotive-hauled experience, and the Murder Mystery Lunch, both including a five-course champagne lunch.
