The annual Westminster Venue Collection showcase, Discover Hidden Gems: A Westminster Venue Collection Showcase, recently brought together over 150 event planners and industry professionals to the Lindley Hall at the Royal Horticultural Halls.
Guests, from companies including The King’s Trust, Bauer Media, Metropolitan Police Service and Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), explored over 50 of London’s most distinctive venues, all under one roof.
For the first time, the showcase moved to an afternoon format, running from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. The change reflects planners’ growing preference for attending work-related events during the working day, making it easier to fit venue research and networking around busy schedules.
Westminster Venue Collection’s portfolio includes fashionable townhouses, private members’ clubs, luxury hotels, iconic attractions and historic institutions, offering organisers an extensive range of options for corporate and private events. The showcase gave planners an invaluable chance to meet member venues face to face.
The showcase also culminated a year of growth for Westminster Venue Collection, which has welcomed five new members in 2026. The National Portrait Gallery, which reopened in 2024 following a major redevelopment and the Wallace Collection bring two of London’s best-loved national collections into the portfolio. The Royal Society of Chemistry adds a historic learned society setting at Burlington House on Piccadilly, while the Caledonian Club in Belgravia and the Royal Kennel Club in Mayfair add two distinctive private members’ venues to the mix. Together, they give planners even more choice across Westminster’s cultural, academic and members’ club spaces.
Peachy Productions supported AV, with screens for presentations highlighting the collection’s versatility for hosting different events, ranging from Christmas and summer events to conferences, awards, receptions and gala dinners. Grace Promotions provided the entertainment with roaming stilt walkers for guest interaction and photo opportunities.
Guests met the collection’s member venues while enjoying a selection of delicious canapés and bowl foods from Food Show. Thorns Group supplied the furniture, creating member exhibitor zones and lounge areas for relaxed connection and conversation.
Attendees were also invited to complete a stamped postcard by visiting member venues, with a selection of prizes to be won. Donated by members, these included: afternoon tea at the Clermont Hotels and Sofitel St James, tickets to any Tate exhibition, a candlelight concert at Central Hall Westminster, a sommelier wine pairing lunch at the Carlton Brasserie and a tour of Westminster School Enterprise.
Westminster Venue Collection chair Clare Davies says: “Westminster is home to some of London’s most extraordinary event spaces, yet many of them are hidden in plain sight. Our showcase is about changing that. Bringing over 50 member venues together under one roof gives planners the chance to have proper conversations with the teams who would bring their events to life and to discover options they may never have considered.”
She added: “That spirit of collaboration runs through everything we do. Our members refer business to one another, so whatever the brief, the aim is always to find the right fit. My thanks go to the Royal Horticultural Halls for hosting us so beautifully, to our partners, to every member who exhibited and to all the guests who joined us.”
The Westminster Venue Collection 2026 Showcase was supported by partners Food Show, Thorns Group, Peachy Productions, Grace Promotions and Andrew Lunn Photography.