Our first joint venue showcase

On Tuesday 4 April we hosted our first Oxford University Event Venues showcase.. Sixteen guests from different companies, associations, agencies and departments joined us for a tour around four of our venues – the Examination Schools, St Luke’s Chapel, the Sheldonian Theatre and William Osler House.

The tour kicked off at the Examination Schools with coffee and pastries and a welcome from Senior Event Marketing Manager, Kay Miles. Anna Munday, Event Manager, then gave a brief history of the venue which was followed by a tour of the Exam School’s grand rooms.

Onwards along Queens’s Lane and under the Bridge of Sighs to the Sheldonian Theatre where we wowed guests with the stunning interior of this venue and the views from the Cupola. Guests were also treated to a sample of our tours by our excellent guide, David Gunnell. David delved into the history of the Roman style theatre, explained the themes behind the new Oxford gargoyles, and set the scene for matriculation ceremonies that take place at the start of the academic year.

We then walked through the city centre to the Radcliff Observatory Quarter, the site of the old Radcliffe Hospital. Our team oversee the events at the site’s old Gothic church, St Luke’s Chapel, where our catering team treated guests to a “round the world” buffet lunch. They were given a brief talk about the site’s history by Senior Facilities Manager, Aileen Peverell.

Our final stop for the day was Osler House. We arranged taxi’s to take us up to the John Radcliffe site, where this art deco style building is situated. Guests were shown the array of meetings rooms and social spaces, and given the opportunity to ask questions about our sites or chat to us about their upcoming events.

At 2.30pm, carriages were called to bring us back to the Exam Schools and guest were given goodie bags and wished a safe journey home…

It was great to meet such a lovely group of people who host a diverse range of meetings and events of varying sizes. It was also enjoyable for us to welcome people on to our sites and treat them to our various services. We’re looking forward to working with new and existing clients over the coming months…

If you missed joining us on the 4 but would like to come to our next showcase, please email us. We look forward to meeting you!