Barbican Business Events has announced a record-breaking year of achievements in 2023/24, cementing its position as not just an iconic multi-arts centre, but also a leading venue for conference, meetings and events.
With a significant increase in events, attendance, and financial performance, the Barbican continues to be a convener of critical business thinking that creates connections and provokes debate in the heart of London. In the 2023/2024 financial year, the Barbican Business Events team:
Hosted 402 events – up 14% from 352 in the previous year.
Attracted 189,000 attendees – up from 167,000, a 13% increase.
Contributed more than £2.9 million to the Barbican as a whole.
As a not-for-profit organisation, the funds generated from these commercial events are reinvested into the Barbican’s arts and learning programme, enabling the widest possible range of people to experience the joy of the arts.
The Barbican Business Events team also welcomed, two new hires. They join a team that has been praised and recognised in the past year for its commitment to excellence. Customer testimonials over the year made mention of the team’s responsiveness, dedication, ‘can-do attitude’ and ‘obvious operational expertise’. The Barbican’s Venue Verdict scores also reflect this, with 100% of respondents awarding a 9 or 10/10 when asked how likely they would be to recommend the venue or use it again in the future – this figure is 20% above the industry average.
Specific successes included:
- Significant growth in hires of the Barbican Hall
- 28 graduation events for nine different universities
- 11 multi-day / centre-wide corporate conferences
- The London premiere of the Oscar-winning film Poor Things
- Three London Fashion Week runway shows for Supriya Lele, Roksanda and 16 Arlington
- 31 weddings
Looking ahead, Barbican Business Events will continue to look for new ways to grow and expand its offering. One area includes its innovative use of unusual and flexible spaces across the building, such as its car parks, which were used this year to host London Fashion Week shows.
In addition, 2024 / 2025 will also see the Barbican advance its ambitious Renewal Programme, which will support urgent infrastructure upgrades and reinvigorate the Centre by transforming underutilised spaces, whilst enhancing its operational and environmental performance.
“Reflecting on this past year, I am thrilled with the success our team has achieved. They have worked tirelessly to deliver outstanding events, and the positive feedback from our clients has been incredibly rewarding,” comments Jackie Boughton, the Barbican’s Director of Commercial. “The surge in bookings as well as attendee numbers, combined with the diversity of events we’ve hosted underscore our commitment to excellence. As we look to the year ahead, we are eager to build on this momentum, as we continue to innovate, and create even more memorable events.”
About Barbican Business Events
The Barbican is one of the world’s leading conference and international arts venues. Located in the City of London, it is capable of holding meetings from 10-2,000 delegates in its fully equipped concert hall, theatres, conference suites and boardrooms. Barbican Business Events brings together the venue’s expertise in the arts and corporate meetings.
Built as part of London’s Barbican development and officially opened in March 1982 by HM Queen Elizabeth, unlike many other venues, Barbican was specifically built with the dual purpose of holding conferences and arts events presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and creative learning.
The Barbican’s Business Events team contributes to the venue’s future success. To make the most of the Barbican’s rich culture and heritage, Barbican Business Events was created to bring together their expertise in three very different areas – the arts, creative learning and corporate business. This approach to corporate events is based on stronger, more in-depth partnerships with their artistic, creative learning and development teams in order to bring more creativity and rich content to events.
About the Barbican
The Barbican is a catalyst for creativity, sparking possibilities for artists, audiences, and communities. We showcase the most exciting art from around the world, pushing traditional artistic boundaries to entertain and inspire millions of people, create connections, provoke debate, and reflect the world we live in.
We are an international arts and events centre rooted firmly in our own neighbourhood, collaborating with local communities and putting the City of London on the map as a destination for everybody. Central to our purpose is supporting emerging talent and shaping opportunities that will accelerate the next generation of creatives.
As a not-for-profit, we rely on the generosity of individuals and organisations, including our principal funder the City of London Corporation. Every ticket purchased, donation made, and pound earned supports our arts and learning programme and enables the widest possible range of people to experience the joy of the arts.
Opened in 1982, the Barbican is a unique and audacious building, recognised globally as an architectural icon. As well as our theatres, galleries, concert halls and cinemas, we have a large conservatory with over 1,500 species of plants and trees, a library, conference facilities, public and community spaces, restaurants, bars, and a picturesque lakeside oasis.
