Choosing the right venue is always the key to a successful event. Get the most out of your event by ensuring it has the size and flexibility you need, with plenty of added facilities and outdoor space to compliment.
Customisable spaces
Great multi-purpose venues give you a blank canvas, where you can put anything in them. Customisable spaces often have vast changes to room configuration which the venue can perform for you, this often works well in stadium or arena venues in which the event team is used to construction changes to stages and seating.
The recently opened Factory International in Manchester has a retractable wall, and tiered seating system which can be there for you to hold up to 1,565 people or removed if unneeded, while this year’s host of the Eurovision Song Contest M&S Bank Arena Liverpool transformed the arena into a stage and several hubs by creating smaller seating structures.
All under one roof
Multi-purpose functions with added elements such as a restaurant, hotel, or social activity are a great way to combine business and leisure and further incentivise business outings. Preston’s Guild Hall is known for hosting several events of differing purposes, such as theatre performances, exhibitions such as Comic-Con, and huge sporting events. After its seven adaptable event spaces, it has an adjoining arcade, Level, which would make a great post conference social or team building opportunity. Additionally, upcoming venue The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead plans to have an adjoining 344 room hotel to accommodate traveling delegates to its 12,500-capacity arena and 17 conference suite spaces.
Get outside
A good multi-purpose venue can cater for indoor and outdoor activities allowing for a variety of aspects to your event.
At Yorkshire Event Centre, a connecting 360° of outdoor space is available around the outside of its venue, making it easy for guests to locate activities and for event organisers to better control space. Using this venue with its vast interior and exterior space increases options such as using outdoor street food vendors and free up indoor space for a stage or extra stands. The YEC recently underwent a multi-million-pound refurbishment and is now one of the largest sustainable event spaces in the North, and onsite the Pavilions of Harrogate is a 13-room, award-winning event space which can cater for events of all shapes and sizes with its expansive indoor and outdoor capacity.
Events Director, Richard Moorhouse illustrates how multipurpose venues can take on a variety of events, saying: “We have had a hugely successful year at The Yorkshire Event Centre which has included hosting the launch of Fully Charged North and the Great Holiday Home Show in addition to our established events calendar. Pavilions of Harrogate will host over 350 events by the end of 2023 and already, bookings for 2024 are looking strong.”
Common knowledge
Multi-purpose venues are often the most recognisable venues of their area due to their size, location, scale and capacity to bring in wide audiences. Usually with easy locations and good accessibility for diversity, these venues have good profile and reputation to attract more attendees and can cater for pretty much any event. Plus state-of-the-art AV and sustainability agendas add to the many reasons to get an all rounder on your shortlist.