The Barbican has achieved a 22% increase in graduation ceremony bookings for the 2024 academic year. During that period, the venue hosted 33 graduations, reinforcing its status as a premier choice for academic celebrations in the heart of London and reflecting its growing appeal to the academic sector.
Over the graduation season, the Barbican will have welcomed approximately 76,000 students, their guests and other attendees, at ceremonies for a number of distinguished universities including:
The University of Law
City University
St Georges Medical School
University of London
London Metropolitan University
University of Wales – Trinity Saint David
Coventry University
Ravensbourne University
The Courtauld Institute of Art
The Open University
The Barbican is a world-renowned arts, conference and learning organisation. As a popular destination in the City of London, the Barbican attracts millions of people from around the world. They not only come to visit its stunning architecture and experience artistic excellence, but every year the Centre provides a striking backdrop for a range of commercial events including conferences, weddings, graduation ceremonies, filming and photo shoots, and product launches.
Charlie Smith, the Barbican’s Deputy Head of Sales, comments: “We’re so pleased that more and more universities want to host their graduation ceremonies at the Barbican. As such an iconic building in the heart of London, the Barbican offers a truly unique destination, and we’re excited to provide space for people to come together – for inspiration, connection, and joy. Graduation ceremonies are significant and symbolic for all involved and as such, they deserve an exceptional location, such as the Barbican.”
He adds: “As we partner with more universities to deliver a range of graduation events, we’re constantly innovating to utilise the full potential of our building and spaces to create even more memorable experiences for students and their families and friends.”
Scoring consistently high on Venue Verdict, and with a slew of glowing testimonials from clients, the Barbican’s popularity is growing across all parts of its business mix. Recently, 100% of respondents awarded the venue a nine or 10 out of 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.
The Barbican’s unique combination of cultural heritage, modern facilities, a central London location, and a clear commitment to continuous improvement, makes it an ideal venue for universities seeking a distinctive and spectacular setting for their most important ceremonies.
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.
For more information, visit our website or connect with us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify | LinkedIn
For further information or to be removed from the Barbican’s press list, please contact adam@soaringww.com
