Historic venues can provide something truly unique for conferences and events. Usually set in spectacular surroundings, the characteristics of a historic venue and the stories behind it will leave delegates with lasting memories long after the event has finished.
Take RCP London Events as an example. The venue is housed within the Royal College of Physicians' fifth home, a striking Grade I listed building overlooking Regent's Park in central London. Alongside award-winning conference and events spaces, it includes a museum, a Medicinal Garden for summer parties and a rare book library. All these attributes provide a great backdrop for memorable delegate experiences.
Here are three reasons why historic venues can elevate your conference or event, both large and small.
One of the greatest benefits of hosting events in a historic venue is the opportunity to step into living history. The RCP is over 500 years old, and our onsite museum houses a rare heritage collection that adds immersive storytelling to your event. Heritage, architecture and museum talks and tours are also available to enrich your programme.
The Dorchester Library, which can be hired for events of up to 250 people, houses one of the most significant collections of rare books in the world. In the 17th century, this library was regarded as the country’s most important library of learning outside Oxford and Cambridge and now provides an enchanting backdrop for modern events.
Lastly, RCP London Events has hosted dignitaries throughout its history and even appeared in movies and productions such as Wonder Woman 1984, Paddington 2, Mammia Mia! 2 and The Crown.
Historic venues, therefore, are great for talking points among delegates.
Aligning your brand with a historic venue guests may have heard of can be appealing to delegates. Particularly if it is a venue that relates to the theme of your event.
RCP London Events hosts a large number of medical organisations, who choose the venue because of its association with England’s oldest medical college and the medical sphere. In fact, some of our longest-standing medical clients have been bringing their events to the venue for over 10 years.
Historic venues can provide the perfect backdrop for conferences and events and give attendees great reasons to share pictures from the event, in front of famous paintings or spaces which can then be shared on social media to spread awareness of the event.
They also provide much food for thought when it comes to inspiration for theming. For example, RCP London Events boasts a Medicinal Garden containing over 1,000 plants with links to medicine – a great source of inspiration for bespoke mocktail and cocktail menus, like in the case of our fine dining showcase ‘Era’, where we even recreated dishes from century-old recipe books.
There is no doubt that historic venues provide something magical, something different and something special for today’s events. In a world where experiences are so important, historic venues are a great choice for creating memorable event experiences.
If you are interested in RCP London Events for your next event, reach out to our award-winning event team: events@rcp.ac.uk
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place
Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4LE
Registered charity no. 210508
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