Find out why Leicestershire might be the perfect location for your next event.
For an inspiring destination to host your next conference or event, look no further than Leicestershire. With easy access for both national and international delegates, a diverse range of venues from which to choose and an array of leisure options, there are many reasons to bring your conference to this incredible destination.
The choice of city and county venues include large-scale conference centres, contemporary boutique hotels, award- winning visitor attractions and top flight sports stadia, all centrally located in the heart of the East Midlands.
Sporting cluster
Leicester is a city with a proud sporting heritage, as evidenced by the success of the Leicester Tigers rugby team and the Leicester Riders basketball team. The city is also home to former Premier League and FA Cup winners, Leicester City, and Leicestershire County Cricket Club. All of these stadiums and grounds have an outstanding range of flexible conference facilities.
Adjacent to the Tigers’ Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium is the new 191- room Hotel Brooklyn which opened in July 2022, offering spaces for sophisticated and fun corporate hospitality. A new event room concept is available with a versatile space that can be divided into three multi- functional rooms (Guys, Dolls, and Curveballs), capable of accommodating all manner of events from meetings, celebrations, weddings, and even screenings, with its state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and lighting.
Sporting venues also include Leicester Racecourse and on Loughborough University campus, the Elite Athletes Centre and Hotel is one of four hotels and conference spaces which form Imago Venues including Burleigh Court Conference Centre and Holywell Park on the site. These spaces are ideal for corporate hospitality events, meetings, and conferences because they offer easily accessible, purpose-built space, along with on-site accommodation, car parking, unique locations, tailored programmes and top-class service with high-tech conference facilities.
New city hotels
In addition to Hotel Brooklyn, there are a number of new centrally located spaces with meeting facilities, including The Gresham Aparthotel. The £17 million development has seen this Grade II listed
Victorian building transformed from a department store (formerly occupied by retailer, Fenwick) into a high-end, 121-room aparthotel. Completing the extensive development is 12,000 square feet of conference facilities and state-of-the-art co-working spaces.
Another one of the newest hotel arrivals is the Novotel complex. The complex comprises a 154-room hotel with executive, junior suites, a presidential suite and a 98-room aparthotel. There is a meeting and conference space with breakout rooms for up to 200 delegates. The Athena and the Curve theatre are located in the heart of the city’s cultural quarter, offering large flexible spaces. The Athena, with its stunning and unique art deco architectural building can host a variety of events from shows, exhibitions, sporting events, dinners, and large corporate Christmas parties catering for 1,000 in banquet style with superb state of the art technology available.
1,000 in banquet style with superb state of the art technology available.
Curve is a spectacular, state-of-the-art theatre boasting a range of distinctive, unconventional and dynamic event and conference spaces. It can host meetings, show-stopping awards ceremonies, product launches, conferences, or exhibitions in 10 flexible spaces for up to 1,600.
Get social
For a truly unique experience for social programmes, corporate hospitality conference organisers can opt for the award-winning National Space Centre, the UK’s only venue dedicated to the excitement, history, and exploration of space. This wow factor venue can offer team building facilities that delegates and guests can have exclusive use of and draw inspiration from, including the stunning Rocket Tower, dinner in its space- themed galleries, and the UK’s largest planetarium.
Leicestershire’s strong tourism offering enriches the experience for any conference delegate, from Twycross Zoo, an award-winning conservation charity and renowned as a World Primate Centre, to the King Richard III Visitor Centre where you can discover the most incredible archaeological detective story ever told after the remains of the lost King of England were found buried beneath a Leicester car park. As well as hosting leisure visits for your delegates, both Twycross Zoo and the King Richard III Visitor Centre also offer their own excellent conference facilities.
Or for something a little different, how about taking your delegates to Great Central Railway, the UK’s only main line heritage railway, offering exclusive use of its beautifully restored carriages for meeting and evening dinner hire, while
Belvoir Castle, used in the filming of the Netflix series The Crown, provides a stunning backdrop to any meeting or event, using the staterooms will impress any potential clients or provide inspiration for any boardroom gathering.
Dream team
If you’re looking for a unique team building activity for your team to get reacquainted, there’s plenty to choose from, such as National Forest Corporate Experiences, signposted cycle routes around Everards Meadows with Rutland Cycling, and the Canal & River Trust canoe team days.
Sector expertise
One of the UK’s fastest growing business locations, its diverse economy includes particular strengths in a range of sectors including advanced logistics, aerospace and satellite technology, professional and financial services, agri-food and drink, textiles and fashion, life sciences, creative and digital, advanced manufacturing and engineering, and sport and physical activity.
Centrally located
The city and county have excellent air, rail, and road links. Leicester is easily accessible from every corner of the UK and beyond. Direct bus services from Luton and Heathrow airports are also available,
with train journeys from central London taking just over an hour to reach the city. Leicester is located close to three major motorways (M1, M69, and M6), less than 20 miles from East Midlands Airport (just over 30 minutes by car) and under an hour away from Birmingham Airport, making it a great destination for both domestic and international delegates.
Expert help
Your conference planning can take an extra dimension with the support of Meet Leicester, which offers a diverse portfolio of over 60 high quality venues in the city and county to suit all event types for conference and meeting organisers.
Meet Leicester’s free and impartial venue finding service will help you find the right location for your event. From organising familiarisation visits and site inspections, and helping to connect you to local suppliers, to providing itinerary ideas and offering expert local advice, Meet Leicester is dedicated to making the planning and delivery of your next event as easy and hassle free as possible.
For more information on Meet Leicester & Leicestershire’s services and to see the full portfolio, visit Meetleicester.co.uk