Barbican and The Ned to showcase London’s Destination City at SMU International 2025
The Barbican, London’s internationally renowned arts and conference centre, will work in collaboration with The Ned, a leading London hotel to champion the City of London’s Destination City initiative at SMU International 2025.
SMU International 2025, taking place from 10-12 March in New York, offers a unique opportunity to connect with meetings and incentive buyers and planners from around the globe. The Barbican and The Ned’s attendance underscores their pivotal role at the heart of the Square Mile, an area celebrated for its historical significance, cultural richness, and innovative future.
The City of London’s Destination City initiative aims to enhance the Square Mile’s appeal by improving pedestrianisation, accessibility, and cultural programming. The district, home to iconic landmarks like the Old Bailey and the Bank of England, is a nexus of history, commerce, and culture. As the area’s leading conference and event venue, the Barbican symbolises this unique blend of heritage and modernity.
The Barbican’s collaboration with The Ned at SMU International 2025 emphasises London’s ability to provide exceptional experiences for event planners and delegates. The Ned, with its luxurious accommodation and state-of-the-art event spaces, is a symbol of sophistication and innovation, complementing the Barbican’s cultural and architectural significance.
Barbican Renewal Programme: securing a sustainable future
The Barbican’s participation at SMU coincides with the start of the Barbican Renewal Programme, a landmark initiative, which will be funded with £191 million from the City of London Corporation.
This five-year project will deliver critical repairs and upgrades to the Barbican, enhancing the Centre’s accessibility, energy efficiency, and overall sustainability. The renewal will secure the Barbican’s position as a cutting-edge venue for arts, business events, and cultural innovation.
Jenny Waller, Head of Sales at the Barbican, who will represent the venue at SMU said: “London’s Square Mile is not just the financial heart of our capital; it’s a cultural beacon. The Destination City programme showcases this vibrant area as a global event and cultural leader, and the Barbican is proud to be at its core. The Renewal Programme will ensure we remain a sustainable and inclusive venue, fit for the future. SMU International 2025 is the perfect platform to share our vision and inspire international event organisers.”
Rachel Lajom, Head of Groups & Events Sales at The Ned added: “The City of London is a shining example of how London is constantly evolving, building upon history and discovering something new. The Ned, since opening in 2017, has embodied this also. Attending SMU for the second time, is the perfect opportunity to showcase to the North American buyers, that London is a destination you can continue to come back and visit and always experience something new. To sit alongside Jenny from The Barbican will allow us to position The City of London and its importance to the well-travelled business market, as well as those wanting to explore this unique city for the first time.”
About Barbican Business Events
The Barbican is one of the world’s leading conference and international arts venues. Located in the City of London, it is capable of holding meetings from 10-2,000 delegates in its fully equipped concert hall, theatres, conference suites and boardrooms. Barbican Business Events brings together the venue’s expertise in the arts and corporate meetings.
Built as part of London’s Barbican development and officially opened in March 1982 by HM Queen Elizabeth, unlike many other venues, Barbican was specifically built with the dual purpose of holding conferences and arts events presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and creative learning.
The Barbican’s Business Events team contributes to the venue’s future success. To make the most of the Barbican’s rich culture and heritage, Barbican Business Events was created to bring together their expertise in three very different areas – the arts, creative learning and corporate business. This approach to corporate events is based on stronger, more in-depth partnerships with their artistic, creative learning and development teams in order to bring more creativity and rich content to events.
The Barbican provides a vibrant and inspiring venue for corporate events, conferences, meetings and entertainment. The venue is capable of holding meetings from 10-2,000 delegates in spaces including a concert hall, theatres, a boardroom and conference suites that can accommodate 10-170 delegates and can be adjusted using sound proofed sliding. As part of its wider investment strategy, the Barbican spent £2.2m on a significant refurbishment throughout the Centre in the summer of 2016 including its Frobisher rooms and Level 4. The focus of the Frobisher refurbishment is designed to create an even stronger connection between the Centre’s main conference and meeting facilities and its arts spaces.
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over a million people attend events annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas 1, 2 and 3, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, public spaces, a library, the Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre.
