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The Barbican, one of London’s most iconic cultural and conference venues, will showcase its recent innovative use of space at IBTM 2024 in Barcelona. 

The Centre is famous for its architectural brilliance and cultural offerings, but the creativity it has employed when it comes to space utilisation for its conferencing and business events offer has opened the door to new ventures, attracting an increasingly diverse range of clients to the venue.

The Barbican’s world-class event venues comprise a range of spaces, from intimate meeting rooms to the 2,000-capacity Barbican Hall. But a new strategy set out by Barbican Business Events has focused on extending this offer into more unusual and previously less used spaces, reimagining how they can be used to provide a unique experience for clients and guests – an approach that the Barbican will demonstrate at IBTM between 19 and 21 November. 

For London Fashion Week 2024 the Barbican’s Sculpture Court, Curve Gallery and its car park hosted showcases from designers Roksanda, Supriya Lele, and 16 Arlington, cementing the Barbican as a go-to venue for high-profile fashion events and brand photoshoots.

The venue’s adaptability caught the attention of other major international brands too. Yves Saint Laurent, Adidas, and Amazon used the Barbican’s spaces for photoshoots in the same year.  

The Barbican also made waves in the film industry, hosting the star-studded London premiere of the winner of four academy awards, Poor Things at its Lakeside Terrace in December 2023. Prior to the premier, a prime spot in the Centre’s foyers held an exclusive exhibition of the costumes of Poor Things, designed by Academy Award Winning costume designer, Holly Waddington.

“By reimagining spaces not specifically created or previously used for events,” says Jenny Waller, Barbican’s Head of Sales, “we are not only ensuring the Barbican remains a top destination for domestic and international business events, but also offering creative new options for clients looking for unique and compelling backdrops for their important occasions.  The Barbican is a place full of unusual opportunities that our team are willing to make work for clients wanting something different. We’re really looking forward to demonstrating our space-use initiatives at IBTM and hope to inspire all those that come to chat to our team.”

The Barbican continues to be sought out for prestigious events. Last month, it hosted the Council on Tall Buildings and the Urban Habitat 2024 International Conference and in 2025, will welcome the World Design Congress. 

It’s clear that the innovative use of space is having a positive impact all round. In terms of growth, there’s been a 14% increase year-on-year in events delivered and a 13% rise in attendee numbers. In terms of recognition, the Barbican has been shortlisted for a variety of awards in 2024, including the London Venue Awards, the miaList and the ABCO excellence awards.

Visit the Barbican on stand no. G30 at IBTM Barcelona.