Best Venue with Outside Space
City Central at the HAC
City Central at the HAC offers a rare combination of six acres of private outdoor space and a fully integrated premium event venue, hidden within the historic grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of the City of London.
The venue’s outdoor offering is a key differentiator, featuring manicured lawns overlooking a historic cricket pitch and the only onsite funfair within the City of London. Attractions including a ferris wheel, carousel, and dodgems create a festival-style atmosphere rarely found at a central London location. Indoor and outdoor spaces connect seamlessly, with the internal structure providing a reliable contingency should weather conditions change.
With capacity for up to 2,400 guests across more than 2,500 square metres, the venue is purpose-built twice yearly by operator Ultimate, who have managed the site since 2009. A full turnkey model covers catering, AV, production, staffing, and entertainment, while a £150,000 soundproofing investment supports live music and entertainment across the site.
Catering is provided by Create (CH&CO Group), with a focus on sustainable sourcing and waste reduction. Past clients include Google, ASOS, and the Financial Times.
Haberdashers’ Hall by Seasoned Events
In the heart of the City of London, Haberdashers’ Hall offers one of the capital’s most unique and versatile outdoor event spaces. Hidden behind the venue’s historic façade lies a stunning private courtyard and landscaped gardens, providing a rare oasis just moments from St Paul’s Cathedral.
The gardens are at the centre of the venue experience, seamlessly connecting with the Hall’s elegant indoor spaces to create memorable events for corporate clients, wedding couples and private hosts alike. From summer parties and networking receptions to product launches, fashion events and weddings, the outdoor space offers exceptional flexibility while delivering a genuine sense of escape from the surrounding city.
What sets Haberdashers’ Hall apart is the combination of heritage, accessibility and hospitality. Guests can enjoy beautiful green surroundings while remaining in one of London’s most connected locations, creating a unique setting that consistently delights visitors.
Supported by a dedicated venue team and a calendar of diverse events throughout the year, the gardens have become a key reason why clients choose Haberdashers’ Hall. Combining historic character with contemporary event experiences, the venue continues to offer an exceptional backdrop for memorable occasions, bringing people together in a setting that feels truly removed from the pace of the City while remaining at its very heart.
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) is one of the UK’s most distinctive outdoor event venues, combining world-class heritage, innovation, versatility and exceptional client service within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Set on the banks of the River Thames, ORNC delivers memorable experiences for organisers, audiences and local communities alike.
Over the past year, the venue has showcased outstanding versatility, hosting music festivals, drone displays, fireworks spectaculars, sporting events, brand activations, charity initiatives, corporate functions and community celebrations. A standout achievement was Labyrinth on the Thames, which welcomed 57,000 attendees across six sold-out nights, reinforcing ORNC’s reputation as a premier destination for large-scale live entertainment.
ORNC has also embraced innovation, delivering pioneering drone activations and hosting nationally broadcast performances by Celestial, runners-up in Britain’s Got Talent 2026. These projects demonstrated the venue’s ability to support complex productions while maintaining the highest standards of safety, operational excellence and heritage stewardship.
Supported by an experienced events team, flexible event spaces and strong hospitality partnerships, ORNC consistently delivers successful outcomes across cultural, commercial and community events. Its unique ability to balance heritage preservation, innovation, audience engagement and commercial success makes ORNC a deserving winner of Outdoor Events Venue of the Year.
RCP London Events
RCP London Events, located within the Royal College of Physicians, offers a distinctive event setting, combining over 500 years of history with a Grade I listed brutalist building. Within this unique environment, the Medicinal Garden provides outdoor space in the heart of the city, featuring over 1,000 medicinal plants and serving as a tranquil setting for events, wellbeing breaks and networking for up to 200 guests.
The garden is at the centre of the venue’s summer offering, hosting a range of experiences including pizza parties, barbecues and food stalls. In partnership with Company of Cooks, the venue delivers an outdoor catering offer updated to reflect client needs and supplier partnerships. The Secret Garden Bar enhances the outdoor offer, providing a space for receptions and informal gatherings.
In 2025 RCP London Events introduced a garden AV package and external projection capability, transforming the facade of the onsite boutique hotel, William Harvey House, into a visual canvas.
Client experience is central, validated by a 2025 Net Promoter Score 92.12%.
Beyond events, the garden supports wellbeing, learning and community engagement, with tours, educational and charity-linked programming. All revenue supports the Royal College of Physicians’ wider charitable mission, including improving patient care.
Sunken Garden
The Sunken Garden is London’s most distinctive outdoor event venue, a purpose-built summer pop-up from Ultimate, open exclusively in June and July for up to 400 guests in the heart of Bloomsbury.
Set beneath a canopy of mature London Plane trees, the garden’s sunken position provides rare seclusion and calm in central London. Ultimate has enhanced this natural setting with ambient lighting, contemporary furnishings and roaming live entertainment, creating an immersive, festival-inspired atmosphere that makes every event feel genuinely special.
The venue is purpose-built to exceed the standards typically associated with outdoor spaces. Luxury toilet facilities, a staffed cloakroom, covered wet-weather contingency and fully integrated AV and sound ensure a premium, seamless guest experience. The DJ booth is built into a central bar that wraps around the garden’s mature London Plane tree, creating a memorable focal point that encourages inclusivity and social energy from the first moment.
Catering is led by KERB, offering a vibrant, multi-station street food journey. Drinks are provided by The Uncommon, whose sustainable canned wines bring a fresh, distinctly English elegance to the bar. Ultimate’s all-inclusive, turn-key model, competitive pricing and expert team mean clients enjoy a boutique venue experience without compromise.
The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn offers one of London’s most distinctive outdoor event settings. At the heart of the venue are The Walks, historic gardens laid out by Sir Francis Bacon in 1608 and one of the largest privately owned green spaces in central London. Combining over four centuries of heritage with contemporary event design, they provide a unique and exclusive backdrop for outdoor events.
For 2026, Gray’s Inn has transformed its summer offering with Summer Revels at The Walks, a premium event concept inspired by the Inn’s historic tradition of revels. Available exclusively in June and July, the experience centres around a seasonal marquee that blends relaxed Mediterranean-inspired styling with practical all-weather functionality.
Recent enhancements include an integrated feature bar, an extended terrace with a second bar, redesigned lounge and dining areas, a clear-roof reception space beneath the trees, and full technical production. Flexible terrace packages for up to 200 guests, chef-led food stations, interactive catering experiences and bespoke event solutions further elevate the guest experience.
From corporate celebrations to outdoor weddings, Summer Revels showcases how Gray’s Inn combines historic surroundings, innovative event design and exceptional hospitality to create one of London’s leading venues with outdoor event space.
The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn is one of London’s most prestigious and historic venues, combining over 600 years of hospitality heritage with eleven acres of private grounds in the heart of central London. As one of the four Inns of Court, it offers a unique mix of historic architecture, modern event facilities, and exceptional in-house catering.
The estate hosts more than 1,000 events annually, including conferences, weddings, summer parties, receptions, awards ceremonies, filming, and corporate events. Its outdoor spaces are a key differentiator, offering rare and exclusive green space in central London. The North Lawn, East Terrace, Chapel Lawn, and Gatehouse Court provide versatile settings for events ranging from outdoor cinemas and team-building activities to large-scale garden parties and wedding ceremonies.
Lincoln’s Inn takes a collaborative approach, working closely with clients to create tailored experiences through bespoke event planning, personalised menus, and sommelier-led wine pairings. The venue’s catering heritage is strengthened by its historic kitchen garden, where herbs and vegetables are grown on-site and incorporated into seasonal menus.
Sustainability and biodiversity are central to the estate, including rainwater harvesting, food-waste composting and wildflower planting.
Lincoln’s Inn combines historic character with modern, flexible event delivery, creating experiences that are distinctive and memorable.
The Inner Temple
Set within a private riverside estate in the heart of the City of London, The Inner Temple offers one of the capital’s most distinctive outdoor event experiences. Combining centuries of heritage with contemporary event production, the estate features the award-winning 3-acre Inner Temple Garden alongside a collection of unique outdoor spaces including Church Court, The Terrace and Pegasus Bar & Restaurant.
In 2025, The Inner Temple evolved its outdoor offering through the rebrand and continued development of Pavilion at The Inner Temple (formerly the Marquee), a premium outdoor event space accommodating up to 600 guests. Pavilion hosts conferences, gala dinners, networking receptions, weddings, family fun days and large-scale summer celebrations, supported by integrated AV, live entertainment capability and flexible event layouts.
The success of the Pavilion evolution has driven exceptionally strong commercial performance, with confirmed bookings increasing from 9 to 12 events during the same four-week trading period year-on-year, while revenue currently sits 10% ahead of budget. The venue has also experienced a significant increase in new clients while retaining the majority of returning business, further strengthening The Inner Temple’s reputation as one of London’s leading outdoor event destinations.
