Are you thinking about where to host your next summer event? Look no further! City Central, HAC is the perfect venue to host your upcoming summer event in London. The open venue space is complete with full production and AV that is suitable for award ceremonies, charity events and conferences, with ambient lighting to set the mood, and a DJ and disco to really get the party going, along with a stunning atmosphere that can be transformed to complement many different themes.

The Artillery Garden is set within the Honourable Artillery Company grounds and against the historic Armoury House and buildings that create a unique backdrop. The venue is right in the heart of the city, making this venue easily accessible for your guests. Many different types of events have been hosted at City Central, such as seated lunches and dinners, standing receptions and BBQs, meetings and conferences, team building events and informal parties of any kind. No matter what kind of event you’re looking to host, City Central is a versatile space that can accommodate anywhere from 400 up to 2,400 guests.

Ideal for Summer Fun

Whether you would like to host your summer event during the day time or at night (or even both!), your event can be planned according to your wants and needs. As your guests approach the entrance of City Central and walk out onto the bright green lawns of the venue’s lush private gardens, your guests can enjoy tasty drinks and canapés while soaking up the ambience and cool breeze. Later, your guests can wander into a larger indoor space equipped with a premium sound system, lighting and large screens to add visual and audiovisual effects to the atmosphere. This space can also be used as an exhibition space for product launches or if you need to use audiovisual equipment for presentations or slideshows with your logo, product images or announcements.

An Unforgettable Experience

One extraordinary thing that sets City Central apart from other summer event venues is that a fun fair can be hired to take your party to a whole new level. This exciting entertainment option is unique only to the Artillery Gardens and includes rides such as a big wheel, carousel, dodgems and even side stalls complete with prize giveaways – just like a real fun fair! The fun fair can be part of your afternoon activities or as follow-up entertainment for after a dinner or reception to keep the festivities going into the night.

Our party professionals can work with you to organise your event and make your summer event something to remember. We can arrange additional entertainment options such as live music, magicians, acrobats and catering for your event using only the most sought-after names in the industry to ensure your party is a spectacular experience for your guests.

Christmas may be just around the corner but we’re always planning ahead.

For 2017 City Central will be subtly decorated. The space lends itself to a multitude of events ranging from conferences and product launches to summer parties and drinks receptions, charity dinners and even awards ceremonies. And don’t forget any event held here has access to the private funfair on site!

Get in touch with the team today to plan your site visit for your next event.

Virtual reality is big news at the moment, and now you can explore the Artillery Garden using the brand new technology.

The tool is particularly useful as it allows our clients to explore spaces which are not available for site visits all year round.

If you’d like to come into our London Bridge offices for a demonstration, or would like our team to come to you, get in touch to arrange your demonstration of our virtual reality site visits.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.

The Birth of Virtual Reality

Chris Milk, in his TED Talk on ‘The birth of virtual reality as an art form’ explained why virtual reality is special. “In all other mediums, your consciousness interprets the medium. In VR, your consciousness is the medium. So the potential for VR is enormous.”

Chris Milk went on to explain: “VR is going to play an incredibly important role in the history of mediums. In fact, it’s going to be the last one. It’s the first medium that actually makes the jump from our internalization of an author’s expression of an experience, to our experiencing it firsthand.

If we go back to the origins of mediums, by all best guesses, it starts around a fire, with a good story. Our clan leader is telling us about how he hunted the woolly mammoth on the tundra that day. We hear his words and translate them into our own internal truths. The same thing happens when we look at the cave painting version of the story, the book about the mammoth hunt, the play, the radio broadcast, the television show or the movie. All of these mediums require what we call “suspension of disbelief,” because there’s a translation gap between the reality of the story and our consciousness interpreting the story into our reality. I’m using the word “consciousness” as a feeling of reality that we get from our senses experiencing the world around us.

Virtual reality bridges that gap. Now, you are on the tundra hunting with the clan leader. Or you are the clan leader. Or maybe you’re even the woolly mammoth.”

Watch the TED Talk in full here, or get in touch with our team for a demonstration of our virtual reality site visits.

There’s nothing quite like the festive atmosphere at our London venues in the run-up to Christmas! We’re often asked which dates are best, by companies looking to book their party. Whilst early December dates are always popular, we’ve seen a rise in numbers of companies looking to book late December celebrations.

There are a few reasons why you might consider booking your Christmas party in the last week before Christmas.

Firstly, if you book a Christmas party right before your staff head off for the holidays, you’ll be able to send them off with a bang! There’s no better way to end the working year than with a great, morale-boosting party. Staff will leave happy, and return refreshed in the New Year.

Your budget will benefit from choosing a Christmas party date in late-December.

As the most popular dates in the middle of the month command the highest prices, you’ll get a great discount for leaving your party until the week before Christmas. That could mean more money to spend on entertainment, upgrading your food and wine or keeping something back for your next company event in 2017.

If you’re hoping to book your party for a Wednesday or Thursday evening but have left it too late to reserve one of London’s popular event spaces, the last week before Christmas could be a good option. And with Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday this year, it’s far more likely that staff will be at work in this week than in previous years.

Your staff will be getting into the festive spirit during the last week of the working year, so productivity levels are likely to dwindle as the distractions of loud Christmas jumpers, mince pies and Christmas music blast through the office!

Why not take advantage of a less-productive week and use it to host your Christmas party?

We have some fantastic shared Christmas party dates available in the run-up to Christmas. We recommend the themed shared Christmas party on 21st December. It’s perfect for groups of 10 or more, with all-inclusive beer, wine and soft drinks and a three-course meal, as well as amazing theming and entertainment. Take a look at the party here. Be quick though – tickets are selling fast!

Starter
Camembert, Fig & Onion
Baked camembert and fig tartlet, white onion chutney, sweet pea and endive

Main
Slow Braised Beef Featherblade
Buttermilk creamed potato, glazed navets and a cabbage pie

Wild Mushroom Steamed Pudding (V)
Potato and carrot dauphinoise, braised savoy cabbage with a Madeira cream sauce

Dessert
Ginger & Crème Fraiche Pannacotta
Bergamot jelly, mulled wine poached pears and a brandy snap shard

Late Night Snack (served around 11pm)
Crispy Streaky Bacon
on a rich bap with ketchup

Portobello and Gruyère Slider
Romaine lettuce and honey mayonnaise

Find out more about The London Comedy Lunch 2017 here

City venue City Central at The HAC opened its stage doors once again to some of the UK’s finest comedy talent as Inconnection hosted its London Comedy Lunch for the sixth consecutive year.

The event took place on Thursday 8th December 2016 at The HAC in London and is an exclusive corporate hospitality event that raised vital funds for children’s charity the Rainbow Trust. For more information about this year’s event please click here.

The Comedy Lunch has been a runaway success since year one providing a great opportunity for guests to network with peers, entertain key clients or just a great excuse to thank the team who are key to the success of your business.

For last year’s line up popular Irish comedian and TV presenter Dara O’Briain was the headline act. Funny-man Dara is one of the few performers to successfully host comedy shows in both the UK (BBC’s Mock the Week) and in his native country Ireland (The Panel). Live At The Apollo host Hal Cruttenden and compere of the day – comedian Sean Collins also performed.

Please visit London Comedy Lunch for more information on this year’s event.