As we all continue to experience challenging times, many of our member venues are adapting and creating digital events and experiences in which you can immerse yourself, by providing inspiring backdrops to produce your own digital events and offering online live events and talks, behind the scenes insights and fascinating virtual tours. There are many imaginative ways to bring London's museums, galleries, tourist attractions and institutions into your day and here's just a few examples for you to explore. For those also looking for filming and broadcasting locations in the capital, the venues are able to provide a variety of different options to consider and are ready to assist you with your planning and requirements.
Digital Events
With virtual events becoming the new norm, we wanted to ensure our venue is set-up to accommodate all kinds of events. Carlton Virtual Studio is a newly installed, permanent virtual studio at our London conference venue with production specialists Oxygen Events.
Nothing beats in-person conversation, and our inspirational setting will be sure to keep your audience engaged - if you're looking to safely connect a panel of speakers, our professional virtual studio is the answer!
Enhance your virtual events with a seamless, high-quality experience and effortlessly engage your clients and colleagues in the room and beyond.
For meetings or corporate events this hybrid option allows for up to 15 people in-person as well as remote live-streaming to thousands.
Contact the team to find out more - info@10-11cht.co.uk
The Design Museum’s exciting exhibition programme has moved online, allowing you to experience world-class design content from the comfort of your own home. Throw yourself into the hypnotic world of electronic music with a specially-curated virtual tour of Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers or explore the design highlights of the past year with our 3D experience of Beazley Designs of the Year 2020. Both of these exhibition experiences can be upgraded to include a bespoke virtual talk conducted by an expert guide.
The Design Museum is also offering a range of virtual design and craft workshops with materials sent straight to your home. These are the perfect way to try a new skill whilst in lockdown, either as part of a professional team building day or even with a group of your friends or family.
For further information, please visit: https://designmuseum.org/venue-hire-old/tours-packages-unique-offers or email: venuehire@designmuseum.org
Here at The Goldsmiths’ Centre we really miss running events. While we patiently await the day when we can run physical events again, our Programming team have delved deep into the world of digital events, putting together a fascinating selection of online talks and events for everyone to enjoy.
Join us as we explore The Jewels of the Six Wives of Henry VIII or, perhaps you’d like a peek Behind the Scenes at Vogue?
Admission for all events is Pay What You Can - you can attend free of charge or pay a donation to support us. Just like with our physical events revenue, all proceedings directly fund our work to support the next generations of jewelry and silversmithing talent.
For full details and to book your tickets, click here: goldsmiths-centre.org/whats-on
Hidden London virtual tours with London Transport Museum - See a secret side of London in 2021 by treating yourself or a friend to a historical tour of a disused station.
‘Zoom’ in from the comfort of your own home and be transported to a subterranean world of shadowy tunnels and secret spaces. Choose from three virtual tours: Holborn (Kingsway), Brompton Road station and King William Street station.
Expert guides will walk you through archive photos and never-before-seen footage as well as answering your questions.
Unique Venues of London enewsletter subscribers can get 20% off any of the virtual tours with an online discount code: VIRTUAL20. Visit https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london/virtual-tours
Get a flavour of what to expect on a virtual tour by tuning in to the Hidden London Hangouts every Saturday at 6pm on www.youtube.com/ltmuseumvideo and listen to a light-hearted chat from the Hidden London team about the tours they create. Visit www.youtube.com/ltmuseumvideo
Hybrid and #virtual events are understandably on the rise as clients look to bring their teams back together as safely as possible and in line with government guidelines.
Last year @museumoflondon_venuehire hosted @survitecgroup’s hybrid event in the Weston Theatre, welcoming 14 guests and speakers onsite with an additional 200 attendees watching remotely.
Opting for a hybrid event meant Survitec could include all of their necessary staff members and partners in the event, while also being able to film and edit the content to distribute post-event to anyone who was unable to attend live or remotely on the day.
If you’re considering going hybrid or virtual for your next event, email the Museum of London’s dedicated team on venuehire@museumoflondon.org.uk for more information.
Image credit ‘Photograph © Mandy Barker’
The Natural History Museum has announced Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It, a year-long season of activity throughout 2021 which is aiming to kick-start a public debate with visitors to the Museum galleries and its vast global audience online about why and how our relationship with the natural world needs to change.
Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It will inspire, inform and empower the Museum’s millions of visitors from around the world through three main elements; a free display in the Museum’s Jerwood gallery, a dedicated digital hub and a series of live events for audiences to take part in throughout the year.
The programme is kicks off with two digital events in the week of 25th January 2021.
Bye Bye Plastic 27 January 2021, 12.00
18-year-old Indonesian/Dutch activist and founder of Bye Bye Plastic, Melati Wijsen is joined by Museum expert Dr Alex Bond and globally renowned photographer Mandy Barker to discuss the pervasive impacts of plastic pollution on oceans and natural environments across the world, and what we can do about it.
Hidden: Animals in the Anthropocene 29 January 2021, 16.00
Award-winning photographer and author Jo-Anne McArthur encourages us to interrogate what value we attribute to animals, and how we might rethink our relationship with them through a more considered, critical lens.
For more information about Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It here: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/our-broken-planet.html
The museum has a variety of ways to explore it from home: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtual-museum.html
Usually able to provide a whole host of memorable experiences for your guests onsite, Royal Museums Greenwich have spanned the gap the pandemic has carved through all of our plans with a leap into the virtual sphere. By teaming up with their colleagues at the Peter Harrison Planetarium and our collections centre in Kidbrooke, they are thrilled to offer live events for parties of 1 to 1,000 that take you out of this world and bring you together online.
Their Fireside Chat with the Astronomers provides guests with exclusive access to two of our expert astronomers. Each astronomer will give a visual presentation on an astronomy topic close to their heart before attendees get the chance to ask some of those burning questions about space, galaxies and stars that they’ve always wanted to know. No two shows are the same and this really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to engage with these experts.
If space isn’t your thing, why not go BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE PRINCE PHILIP MARITIME COLLECTION CENTRE? Only 6% of Royal Museums Greenwich’s extensive collection is ever on display across our four museums at any one time. Take a 'Behind the Scenes' tour of the innovative Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre in Kidbrooke and discover how they preserve some of RMG’s most remarkable items – all from the comfort of your couch. Learn first-hand from conservators about the painstaking efforts made to keep these magnificent pieces in ship-shape. RMG’s trusted catering partners have even prepared seasonal packages for home delivery to enjoy while you connect online for your show.
Contact events@rmg.co.uk to discover how to bring their experiences to your guests now.
The Soane From Home: Virtual Tours
From the comfort of your own home you can now experience the extraordinary Sir John Soane’s Museum, left as it was at the time of his death in 1837. With a variety of options to choose from, you will be treated to a fascinating insight into this famous architect’s work and life and learn the stories behind some of his many treasures.
Live-streamed Tour
On this special digital tour, you’ll get the opportunity to take a peek inside the Museum with one of our expert guides via Zoom. A 60 minute exploration of the ground floor
and first floor drawing rooms will be followed by a 20 minute Q&A session, where you’ll get the chance to ask our guide all about Soane and his marvellous museum.
Highlights Film with Live Q&A
Hosted on Zoom, this 20 minute film will take you through some of the most interesting and special parts of the Museum. Narrated by Dr Emma Miles and interspersed with images from our
archives, this is the perfect way to learn more about the Museum and Soane’s magnificent collection. The film is followed by a 30 minute live Q&A session with one of our guides.
Please email events@soane.org.uk to find out more.
Twickenham Stadium – The Studio
Hidden securely within Twickenham Stadium features a broadcast area, ‘The Studio’, allowing for hybrid and digital events to achieve a higher level of production. The Studio features state of the art, broadcast media quality hardware and software, enabling event organisers to create richer content for digital first events.
The centre piece of The Studio is its state-of-the-art ‘smart LED studio’ managed by Eclipse. The area features a 7.5m x 3.5m LED backdrop, a full scale broadcast lighting rig, cameras and content & design facilitation. There is also a separate green room facility situated just above the studio, also for use by event planners for dressing rooms, practice areas and catering.
With the industry continuing to be influenced by the global pandemic, The Studio offers event organisers the flexibility to create hybrid meetings, but also quickly switch to broadcast content if needed, all in a ready to go solution. The Studio is designed as a fully Covid-19 secure environment in keeping with the rest of the stadium and comes serviced by an experienced crew.
As well as live broadcasting, The Studio can be used to pre-record content, with specifically designed, branded and bespoke backdrops, produce high quality webcasts, and even video conferencing, with the capabilities of feeding in multiple speakers from anywhere in the world into the main studio.
For further information please contact: conferences&events@rfu.com
Virtual Visits to Wellcome Collection - A guided tour
Join us on a tour of Wellcome Collection and find out why we are more than a venue, we are a destination itself. Keith McMahon, our virtual tour partner and Diana West, Sales Manager take you on a relaxed visit to our amazing building. Learn more about Wellcome Collection’s history, location, accessibility, venue hire and much more. We love the virtual tour as we have found is a great tool to show people Wellcome Collection form the comfort of their homes or offices.
The video is now available on our social media channels Facebook and LinkedIn. If you would like us to offer you a personalised show round based on your event requirements, drop us an email and one of our team members will be happy to arrange a date and time with you.
Filming
Used as a secret underground headquarters during the Second World War, Churchill War Rooms is a unique filming location right in the heart of Westminster. Features include an operational map room with original maps, secret offices, period furniture and fittings and winding corridors.
In line with government regulations, Churchill War Rooms is still available for filming when closed to the public. Procedures are in place to ensure the site is COVID safe for crews – for more information, please see our website: https://www.iwm.org.uk/commercial/filming
For any questions, or to discuss your particular shoot, please contact our film team on filming@iwm.org.uk and we will be happy to help.
Whilst the Design Museum remains closed to visitors, COVID-secure film and television production is permitted to continue.
With a range of multifunctional spaces available to hire, the museum offers the perfect setting for small and large productions.
On offer are sleek dining rooms with stunning pewter bars, functional classrooms and spacious learning workshops, a modern auditorium, an inconspicuous library and not to forget a large versatile gallery with natural light and views of the roof.
We offer both on-site and virtual site visits, and a 3D virtual tour of all spaces can be found online at: https://designmuseum.org/venue-hire/virtual-tour-of-the-design-museum
The Design Museum Events Team are on hand to discuss your specific requirements to ensure you get the best out of your shoot. To enquire, please email venuehire@designmuseum.org
Present at D‐day, HMS Belfast is now a landmark on the Thames. From her original engine room through to the 1950s bunks, officers’ sea cabins and the Admiral’s Bridge she provides a myriad of locations for filming; including a backdrop of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London with wonderful views of the river.
In line with government regulations, HMS Belfast is still available for filming when closed to the public. Procedures are in place to ensure the site is COVID safe for crews – for more information, please see our website: https://www.iwm.org.uk/commercial/filming
For any questions, or to discuss your particular shoot, please contact our film team on filming@iwm.org.uk and we will be happy to help.
If your production requires a transport setting then London Transport Museum should be your first stop, with their Depot holding over 370,000 items including many original vehicles. For filming projects, we have a number of underground carriages available including a Victoria Line (1967-2011) tube carriage, a contemporary Metropolitan Line train and a recently refurbished Met 353 first class carriage from the early 1900s. All include original posters and advertisements.
You may recognise the Depot from Mr Sloane starring Olivia Coleman, Fleabag starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool starring Jamie Bell and Mrs Wilson starring Ruth Wilson. It has featured in adverts for George at Asda, Experian, an ASOS and MAC collaboration, Reiss and a Women’s Health editorial with Binky Felstead of Made in Chelsea.
Green room facilities, unit parking and a dedicated onsite supervisor are all included.
Contact the Venue Hire team to discuss your needs – venuehire@ltmuseum.co.uk
Wren House was recently refurbished and is now available for filming hire. Wren House offers Beautiful Georgian facade with period interiors, reception rooms and grand staircase. Fantastic central London location with views to the Thames, surrounded by the historic courtyard and with outdoor locations on site.
In addition to offering plenty of unit base opportunities, the grounds include the elegant Figure Court, bordered by the Hall and State Apartments, the Ranelagh Gardens, a beautiful and secluded hidden gem, and the extensive lawns which have been used for the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show since 1912.
Understandably attractive to period productions, Downton Abbey and Churchill at War have filmed at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. It has featured in numerous factual and light entertainment programmes such as The One Show, Antiques Roadshow and Made in Chelsea as well as features Diana and Stormbreaker and TV drama The Split. It has even appeared as the home of the famous meerkat Aleksandr in a Compare the Market advert.
For information on filming at Royal Hospital Chelsea please contact the events team RHCevents@chelsea-pensioners.org.uk
With filming approved by the Government to continue during lockdown, RIBA at 66 Portland Place is available to hire. From blockbuster films and popular TV dramas to adverts for luxury vehicle brands such as Jaguar, 66 Portland Place is incredibly versatile with ample space to accommodate cast and crew.
Representing the best of British architecture, 66 Portland Place is, in places, almost untouched since 1934. With numerous indoor and outdoor spaces set across six floors, the venue features a double height entrance hall and triple height atrium meaning large equipment and set ups can easily be accommodated, showstopping marble staircase, Art Deco detailing, historic library and wood-panelled boardrooms. The building’s incredible architectural detailing makes it perfect for mid-century and contemporary inspired productions in central London.
Whether it’s a full day filming or a two-week hire, as the building is not currently open to the public or staff, bookings are much more flexible over the next few months. If you’re looking for a venue for an upcoming shoot, get in touch with our team by emailing: venues@riba.org
You may have seen Royal Museums Greenwich grace your TV screens over Christmas as they featured in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and brand new Netflix show Bridgerton as well as old fan favourite The Crown. With five venues, spanning over four hundred years of architecture and history, they really have got something to suit every location and with part closure of their sites until March, there really is no better time to film with Royal Museums Greenwich.
If you’re looking for your next shoot location, Sophie at Royal Museums Greenwich is always happy to assist. Reach out to events@rmg.co.uk for more information.
While dance performances have been put on hold, our beautiful theatre is available for filming and photo-shoot projects. It’s not very often that we have an opportunity to offer our main stage and variety of additional spaces for these projects.
Sadler’s Wells provides a unique location for TV shows and series, interviews, music videos, feature films and fashion shoots. Spaces which can be used for filming and photo-shoots include contemporary Main Auditorium and Lilian Baylis Studio, bright and industrial Rosebery Room, stylish bars, modern staircase and foyer, and dressing rooms.
Our highly qualified Technical team will be able to assist with all your production requirements.
We are following the official ‘Working safely during coronavirus’ UK government guidance to make sure that our spaces are Covid-secure.
If you are interested in using Sadler’s Wells as a location for your next filming or photo-shoot, please get in touch with our Events team – events@sadlerswells.com, 020 8078 8642.
Somerset House is open for filming ! Whilst Somerset House is closed to the public, in line with current government guidelines, we are still open for production and TV filming.
Somerset House has elegant rooms, sweeping staircases, atmospheric lightwells, picturesque terraces, a spectacular courtyard and all manner of interesting lesser-known spaces.
From its commanding series of rooftops you'll find the perfect shot of the London skyline, with views across the city and River Thames, taking in the Southbank, the London Eye and Westminster to the East, and St. Paul’s Cathedral to the West. They also make the ideal location for high level shots, stunts and chase scenes.
Somerset House has become a leading location for major film and television series, and an iconic backdrop for major brands’ photoshoots. Our flexibility and ability to find new spaces to utilise on-site, featuring both the historic and the contemporary, means that we are always likely to have something that will raise the bar for your brief.
Get in touch with the team to find out more: events@somersethouse.org.uk or 020 7845 4618.
Image credit: © The Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is pleased to be able to welcome film & photography crews for shoots. Following the move into national lockdown, the Museum has closed temporarily to the public. Although a difficult time for all our teams and visitors, the closure provides greater flexibility for filming and more opportunities for daytime shoots.
With ornate gallery spaces, a grand staircase and contrasting contemporary glazed courtyard, there are countless filming possibilities available at the Wallace Collection. The exterior of the building provides a sweeping driveway and impressive London town house façade whilst the interior houses an unparalleled collection of artworks and original eighteenth –century architectural features.
Be in touch on 020 7563 9507 or events@wallacecollection.org for full details of our COVID-19 location hire protocols and shoot availability.