Central Hall Westminster Hosts First Hybrid EventLAB 2021

Central Hall Westminster, part of Central Hall Venues group, played host to the first ever hybrid version of EventLAB, Hire Space’s event industry showcase on Wednesday 24th November.

Over 450 event professionals watched the event across in-person, online on Arena and LinkedIn Live, and took part in a host of panels, talks and workshops, all designed to turbo-charge event organisers’ skillsets and self-confidence in the new post-COVID world. While the in-person event took place throughout the day at CHW, live streams were broadcast on virtual and event platform, Arena for remote delegates. Online attendees were also given the opportunity to network through online team-building activities run by GoTo Events and Wildgoose, who also ran in-person activities.

Highlights of the day, held in the Lecture Hall and Library and some smaller rooms of Central Hall Westminster’s event spaces, included keynote talks by leading UK and international entrepreneurs and public figures. These included Mark Bannister, Technical Director of COP26; Mike Kershaw, founder of leading events company, Kershaw Partners; and Kuba Wieczorek, Co-Founder of eve sleep. 

Some of the most-subscribed sessions included topics such as running post-pandemic events, hybrid events and carbon neutral events. Central Hall Venues’ own Managing Director, Paul Southern, took part in a popular panel discussion entitled ‘Code Red for Climate Change’. Meanwhile, CPD-certified workshops on topics from event safety to leadership also took place at the venue. In-person delegates were also able to use the on-site co-working space and lounge in the Dinsdale Young and Maurice Barnett rooms, participate in food-based activities provided by experience providers, Sixth Sense and network with some top event industry suppliers. 

Central Hall Westminster’s AV and production partner, White Light, managed all the AV and equipment for the event, while branding was executed by event production company b2 Live. 

Central Hall Venues’ Managing Director, Paul Southern, which runs CHW, comments: “What an incredible day it was at Hire Space’s EventLAB 2021 and we were thrilled to have hosted their first ever hybrid event at Central Hall Westminster. CHW has always been ahead of its day as not only is it a purpose-built event space, but it has been equipped for live-streaming for many years now – including some of the biggest occasions in the world.”

Hire Space Co-Founder, Edward Poland, added: “EventLAB 2021 was a great success and it was brilliant to see the event industry back in action. Central Hall Westminster was the perfect venue for our first ever hybrid event, not only for its architecturally stunning building and range of event spaces, but for its expertise and equipment. A big thank you to all our partners, supporters and delegates for making this day one to remember.”