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With more than 1000 truly unique events venues, an £11 billion investment in city-wide projects directly benefiting international business visitors, and a culture rich in diversity, heritage and culinary delights, London offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.
London has long been a world-class business and leisure destination offering exceptional value for money. It’s a vibrant and multi-cultural city that’s easy to meet in and impossible to forget. There are more than 40,000 shops including Europe’s largest inner-city retail complex Westfield London, 48 Michelin-starred restaurants, more than 6000 restaurants offering menus from 70 major country cuisines, 300 museums and galleries (17 of which offer free entry), 150 theatres, 147 parks, more than 10,000 bars and clubs and four World Heritage Sites.
According to the Lonely Planet guide, London’s accommodation and restaurant prices are between one third and one half cheaper than a few years ago. But it’s not just favourable exchange rates that are making London such an affordable destination. Fantastic deals offered by an incredible choice of events venues, and London’s business hotels offering competitive prices on both room rates and day delegate rates, make the UK capital a number one choice for a range of events and incentives.
New convention space includes an additional 5000-seat arena and 17 meeting rooms as part of the expansion of ExCeL London, which opened on May 1. The privately-funded £165 million expansion will see the Docklands convention and exhibition centre renamed as ICC London ExCeL.
By 2012, there will also be 13,300 new hotel rooms available throughout London, giving the UK capital a total of 123,000 bedrooms. Recently opened properties include London’s largest new hotel, the 15-storey Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, offering 2500 square metres of meetings space. Located near the South Bank and directly opposite the Houses of Parliament, this 1021-room hotel has been built to the highest green standards. This year, flagship hotel openings include the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel London – a five-star property offering 244 rooms alongside the Eurostar terminal, and Starwood’s luxury W brand, which makes its UK debut in Leicester Square, and boasts 194 rooms and four meeting spaces right in the heart of London’s theatre district.
In the next two years, London’s landscape will change with the addition of architectural highlights such as the Shard of Glass (the new London Bridge Tower), containing a six-star 195-room Shangri-La hotel and the Heron Tower in the city’s financial district, which is set to provide breathtaking views from its rooftop.
Improved transport links to the key Olympic sites will include an East London line extension, upgrades to the existing Docklands Light Railway service and a 225km/h high-speed Javelin service to take spectators from St Pancras to the Olympic Park at Stratford in East London in just seven minutes.
Chris FJ Lynn, sales & marketing director, North America & Long Haul at Visit London says: “As the countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games continues, business visitors can already see how significantly the UK capital has changed. We have an unprecedented opportunity to show the world exactly what London has to offer and these new developments will benefit business and leisure visitors alike for many years to come.”
There are also many other smaller projects underway in London. These include the re-opening of the tea-clipper Cutty Sark in spring 2011, a new wing to the popular art gallery Tate Modern, in time for the Games, and the launch of the Meantime Brewery in Greenwich – all of which will make great venues for events and ‘down time’ activities. “The amount of investment really does reflect a long-term confidence in a city that can be experienced by business visitors in the run up to, during and after the games,” continues Lynn. “At Visit London we offer a complete service for business visitors with free impartial advice on planning any type of event in the capital. Whenever you decide to visit or bring an event to London, you can be sure of exceptional service, a memorable and unique experience and most of all, a warm welcome.”
See the world. Visit London.
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