QEII Centre

You can run a conference for up to 1,300 delegates theatre style on one self-contained floor, with catering, AV and event IT from the venue’s own teams, four minutes’ walk from St James’s Park Tube. The QEII Centre stands on Broad Sanctuary opposite Westminster Abbey and has hosted events since Queen Elizabeth II opened it on 24 June 1986. It lists 32 event spaces across seven floors and 7,022 m² of space in all, and says the whole building can hold up to 2,500 people.

Event spaces and capacities

You can keep a plenary, exhibition and catering together on one floor. The largest space is the Third Floor, where the Fleming and Whittle combine for 1,300 theatre style, 930 for dinner or 1,200 standing, with the Britten alongside for exhibition and catering. The whole floor is 2,142 m² with moveable walls, served by an external goods lift rated at 2,500 kg. The Churchill on the ground floor seats 700 theatre style on a slightly raked floor with a permanent stage, and its hire includes the first floor Pickwick subject to minimum catering numbers. The sixth floor Mountbatten (410 theatre style) comes with the Cambridge on the same terms. The table lists the 28 spaces the venue publishes individually; its headline count is 32.

Capacities and areas as published by the venue on its spaces pages, checked 5 November 2026. Blank cells are not published.

Getting there and parking

Your delegates can walk in from two Tube stations and three main line termini. The venue gives St James’s Park as 4 minutes’ walk, Westminster 5 minutes (its nearest step-free station, on the Jubilee, District and Circle lines), Charing Cross 12 minutes, Victoria 14 minutes and Waterloo 18 minutes. It quotes transfers of 26 minutes from London City, 44 from Gatwick, 47 from Heathrow and Luton, and 1 hour 5 minutes from Stansted.

There is no public car park on site. The venue points drivers to Q-Park Victoria, 8 minutes’ walk away, and lets Blue Badge holders attending a conference park free on the forecourt when space allows, so they should call ahead on +44 20 7798 4000. Taxis drop off at the security barrier, or at the front door when carrying a disabled passenger. Exhibition and event deliveries use the Storey’s Gate loading bay, open 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Friday, with out-of-hours slots by arrangement.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You deal with one venue team for food, technology and connectivity instead of bringing in outside suppliers. QEII Taste is the in-house caterer. The venue says dishes are prepared in-house on the day, all desserts are plant based, 60% of dishes are vegan, vegetarian or plant-forward, menus carry FoodSteps carbon labels, and it has 24 trained allergen champions.

QEII Live, the in-house AV and event IT team, hires equipment packages that come with an AV project manager, and offers stage set design, 3D visuals and digital signage for registration and wayfinding. It lists 27 dedicated PA systems and 23 rooms with dedicated induction loops. Wired and wireless internet is free throughout.

For accommodation, the venue’s QEII Stays service says 6,000 hotel rooms are within walking distance and more than 26,000 within easy reach, with dedicated support for group blocks of nine rooms or more and no contract or liability for the organiser.

Accessibility and sustainability

You can place wheelchair users anywhere in a room, because the centre has no fixed seating. The venue says every meeting room has step-free access, nine passenger lifts take wheelchairs, stages can take a ramp or portable lift, and most rooms have permanent induction loops. The centre holds Gold accreditation from Greengage Solutions and has removed single-use plastic.

What to ask before you book

• The Pickwick comes with the Churchill and the Cambridge with the Mountbatten only above a minimum catering level. Ask what that minimum is for your date and headcount.
• The 1,300 theatre figure uses the Fleming and Whittle together. Ask how the Britten is set for exhibition or lunch while the plenary runs, and how long a wall move takes between sessions.
• Deliveries go through the Storey’s Gate bay on weekdays between 07:00 and 19:00. If you build at a weekend, agree out-of-hours access, your storage area and goods-lift slots for the third floor in writing.
• eBikes and eScooters are not allowed on site or in the free cloakroom, which also does not hold items overnight. Put both points in your joining instructions.
• The venue reserves the right to refuse bookings it considers contrary to its commercial interests or incompatible with its public law duties. If your event is political or campaigning, raise this at enquiry.

Related on Events Review

• The QEII Centre for a Westminster business event
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan
• Conference venues in London
• Conference and exhibition venues
• Church House Westminster
• IET London: Savoy Place
• RCP London Events
• Business Design Centre
• Olympia London
• Excel London

Sources: QEII Centre home page, spaces and room pages, location, accessibility, FAQs, QEII Taste, QEII Live, QEII Stays, sustainability and history, checked 5 November 2026.