Three events that work well in lecture theatres that are not lectures

Published: Mon 4 Nov 2019

The clue’s in the name - obviously, lecture theatres are great spaces for…lectures. However, with raked flooring and tiered seating combined with cutting edge AV, a large stage and production lighting, lecture theatres lend themselves to a whole host of events. Having recently upgraded the AV in our 150 seater Kingston Lecture Theatre we’ve put together three ‘outside-the-box’ events that work brilliantly in what for some venues is their most overlooked space.

Comments from Akmal Shahzad, Venue Manager at IET Birmingham: Austin Court

Product launches

When launching anything from a new car to a vacuum cleaner, a book or a video game, product launches are the moment to wow an audience and excite them with your latest product.

When it comes to choosing a venue for your product launch, location and space are important considerations as well as somewhere that reflects your brand in some way.

A lecture theatre is designed so that whatever or whoever is front and centre stage captivates an audience from the moment they walk into the room.

And, with foldaway tables at every seat, state-of-the-art sound, lighting and technology - not to mention a large stage and screen - there is a lot going on to wow your guests and make a killer first impression.

Pop-up cinemas

The pop-up cinema market is growing rapidly in the UK with over 1,000 pop-up cinema screenings last year.

Lecture theatres are dream locations for pop-up cinemas, for several obvious reasons.

To start with the set-up is similar to that of a regular cinema and the technology is usually geared towards this type of event.

Hiring a lecture theatre for this purpose can also lend itself to far more branding as the space can be transformed as you wish, for example, the addition of two new HD projection walls into our Kingston Lecture Theatre has enhanced events hosted in the room allowing increased capacity for branding.

Hosting in a dedicated events venue also allows you to be able to add on a catering package such as pre-cinema canapes or post-film drinks.

Award Ceremonies

Lecture theatre set-ups work really well for award ceremonies.

A grand stage, tiered seating and wide aisles for winners to do their victory walk as they collect their trophy really helps bring such an event to life and conveys the glamour, grandeur and celebratory feeling of such a significant evening.

The Kingston Lecture Theatre’s new moving LED headlights offer slick lighting to create a glowing atmosphere and the enhanced sound systems offer enriched audio experiences, while the HD projection walls and LED-coloured lighting further add impact to the ceremony to really wow the audience.