In his 1938 comic song “I Went to a Marvellous Party”, the songwriter and playwright Noël Coward described a particularly colourful event:
"The Grand Duke was dancing a foxtrot with me
When suddenly Cyril screamed ‘Fiddledidee’
And ripped off his trousers and jumped in the sea.
I couldn’t have liked it more."
Coward’s song was of course poking fun at the society types he mixed with in the south of France. But these days, extravagant parties are no longer the preserve of the privileged classes. Many of us work for businesses that hold annual parties – some of them at Christmas, but increasingly spread throughout the year – to foster a sense of togetherness among employees or to celebrate achievements and anniversaries. And parties are an essential part of the annual round of showbusiness awards ceremonies such as the Baftas and the Brits.
The party industry has grown to become a huge business. The events sector is worth £42.3 billion to the UK economy, of which corporate hospitality and corporate events accounts for £1.2 billion. So, where does all this money go? Here’s a segment-by-segment assessment of the party business, showing where the best parties are being held, and revealing some of the best hidden hideouts.
Hotels and private members’ clubs - the perfect venue for a party?
These are the most conventional venues for parties. With their ballrooms and other public spaces, the bigger hotels in particular are well equipped to deal with large events, being able to feed and entertain large numbers of guests in an evening. Following this year’s Brit Awards, for instance, Universal Music’s after party was held at 180 The Strand in London, hosted by Soho House. Here, A-list guests such as Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding mingled in an environment that was chiefly aimed at a standing, circulating crowd – there was some furniture, such as velveteen cubes and low upholstered benches, but mostly the venue was left as open space, with DJs supplying music.
And the Rosewood Hotel in London has hosted the post-Bafta party (sponsored by Grey Goose vodka, a big player in the party business). The hotel itself was essentially a sober backdrop against which stars such as Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch could shine. Meanwhile London’s Groucho Club – which opened in 1985 and pioneered the trend towards younger, hipper private members’ clubs – has various spaces available, including its Soho Bar, which can accommodate up to 150 standing guests. The room is impressively furnished with club sofas and stools upholstered in bright, attractive fabrics.
Churches - suitable venues for staff events?
It might come as a surprise to learn that houses of worship are now also serving as palaces of pleasure. But these are straitened times and churches are using their attractive, distinctive premises to host events and parties. Hallé St Peter’s church in Manchester, and LSO St Luke’s and St John at Hackney in London are among those that host celebrations (these venues also host regular music concerts). These spaces are flexible, with removable seating, which means that they can be used for wining, dining and even dancing. A well-lit church interior with a high ornate roof and stained glass windows can be a dramatic backdrop for a celebration.
Museums and galleries for business venues?
Like churches, these venues can provide a spectacular and historic party setting, often amid fascinating exhibits or stunning artworks. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, for instance, can provide spaces for formal dining in the Victorian grandeur of its galleries, with the traditional arrangement of tables, or it can host more informal events, with guests standing and circulating in the museum’s Edwardian Tea Room. The museum’s Industrial Gallery, for instance, provides space for up to 250 guests surrounded by impressive decorative arts. Most major galleries and museums across the UK, including London’s V&A, Science Museum and National Portrait Gallery, will provide venue hire, though the types of celebration may be limited to ensure the protection of precious exhibits.
Tourist attractions and heritage sites for work events
Anyone passing through London’s Regent’s Park in the evening might come across a stream of party-goers heading towards London Zoo, which has for some years been hiring out parts of its extensive grounds and buildings for parties and events. The Zoo has various pavilions and rooms, as well as outdoor areas, for corporate and private hire, many of which have animal enclosures as a backdrop; some packages will include access for guests to attractions such as the Aquarium or the Reptile House, or even encounters with some of the animals, such as llamas, also giving access to the animals’ keepers. A cocktail party in the Komodo dragon house is one of many packages on offer. Formal dining or more relaxed celebrations can be catered for, both inside and outdoors on terraces or in public areas.
The Tower of London is one of many historic tourist attractions to offer venue hire for parties. The Tower, which is owned and operated by Historic Royal Palaces, has a selection of rooms and venues rich in history and brimming with artefacts. Among the smallest is the Jewel House, which can accommodate 50 guests; the largest is the Tower’s moat, which can hold up to 2,000 guests. A specially-built pavilion is also available, furnished with long sofas and upholstered ottomans, with the Tower as an iconic backdrop.
London’s Guildhall, meanwhile, has hosted major events such as last year’s Save the Children Winter Gala, a fundraising and celebratory event featuring guests such as Grayson Perry and Mary Portas. The event was themed around the work of Roald Dahl, marking the author’s centenary, and guests were taken into a Dahl fantasyland where characters from his books roamed the party and guests could order drinks from the Marvellous Medicine bar. Fundraising auctions were held, with guests seated at banqueting furniture.
Meanwhile, on a smaller scale, the London Eye offers private hire of its capsules for a 30-minute rotation of the wheel for up to 25 guests (though that might be quite a squash).
Theatres and music venues for businesses
Many theatres will hire out their premises – either individual rooms or the whole auditorium – for events. Those with removable seating are best suited for parties. London’s Troxy, for instance, normally serves as a live music venue, but recently hosted the Christmas party for staff at Google. A hipsterish environment is provided by Village Underground in London’s Shoreditch, with its high brick walls and post-industrial ambience. London’s Roundhouse, too – home of performances by bands such as the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and The Ramones – is a fine venue for a party, with its iron pillars and brickwork walls. And the fading grandeur of Wilton’s Music Hall in east London, where music-hall stars such as George Leybourne (otherwise known as Champagne Charlie) used to perform, has provided richly atmospheric surroundings for many celebrations. Elsewhere in the UK, venues such as the Leadmill in Sheffield are available for hire for parties.
Spiegeltents
These highly decorated mobile performance venues (it means “mirror tent” in Dutch) are coming back into favour, with some – such as the Spiegeltent on London’s South Bank – being used as permanent cabaret and circus performance venues, and others being available for hire for parties. They offer flexibility and an excellent opportunity for a “themed” party, with fairground attractions, circus performers and popcorn vendors adding to the flavour of the event. Seating can be removed or installed as required.
Warehouses for your next party?
Disused warehouses and old industrial premises offer an edgy, urban space for your party (they’re also popular for fashion shows and photoshoots). Usefully, they offer a blank slate – an empty structure with countless permutations and variations. (Canvas can arrange hire of a range of warehouse spaces in London.) Some provide furniture, which is often, as you’d expect, idiosyncratic. A popular warehouse is The Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf on London’s South Bank, which has peeling plasterwork and bare metal girders. Most major British cities will have post-industrial premises for hire. A typical example is the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, a complex of rooms that have been used for events by corporate clients including BMW and Gap.
Stately homes - the solution for business events?
With the aristocracy in financial decline, Britain’s stately homes are in search of revenue, and many now offer rooms and spaces for parties and events. Perhaps the most famous of these is Cliveden in Berkshire, where, in the summer of 1961, 19-year-old Christine Keeler swam in the pool while John Profumo looked on, thus sparking one of British history’s most notorious scandals. It seems that Cliveden is not ashamed of its role in the scandal. In fact the house actually trades on its role, offering what it calls “decadent celebrations as wild as your imagination”.
Immersive parties for work?
These events lie in the rarefied upper echelons of the party business. Organised by high-end production companies such as Immersive Cult, whose prices typically begin at around £100,000, these parties are more like theatrical events and cater to hosts who want to give their guests a unique and unrepeatable experience, with little spared in the way of expense. Immersive Cult, for instance, organised a party themed around The Great Gatsby, with guests being loaned their own vintage car in which to drive to the venue.
More modestly priced parties based around a culinary theme are offered by London-based Shuttlecock; a travel-themed party created by Shuttlecock, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, simulated seven train stops from Rangoon to Kashmir via a seven-course tasting menu, designed around a colonial-style dining car and featuring actor hosts performing “in character”. No doubt Noël Coward would have been amused.
