Founded in 1907, Imperial College London ranks second in the world and is the top-ranked university in the UK and Europe in the QS World University Rankings.
With previous alumni including Nobel prize-winners and Field's Medallists, the university awards over 9,500 degrees every year.
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Structures
Imperial College London currently hosts two, one-day graduation events each year, in May and October. Each graduation day hosts up to 15,000 attendees, with three or four ceremonies throughout the day.
For over 60 years, the graduation ceremonies have been held in the historic Royal Albert Hall, followed by drinks receptions for graduating students and their guests. Some of these are held on campus, but capacity on site is not large enough to accommodate the total number of guests for each event and there are no other suitable venues that are large enough, or close enough, in the surrounding area.
For almost 20 years, Imperial College London has trusted GL events UK to provide the extra venue space they need with temporary structures in a local park.
Challenges
Prince's Gardens is situated in South Kensington, within walking distance of the Royal Albert Hall. This beautiful park is subject to the various restrictions that a Central London location brings – parking is limited, there are restrictions to access and neighbours must be made fully aware of the work taking place.
There's also the challenge of planning and installing temporary structures without damaging any of the trees within the park.
The solution
Working collaboratively with the events team at the university, GL events UK have provided quality, temporary structures to meet the demand for hospitality space during the graduation events.
Over the years the structures have evolved and designs have adapted to meet the changing requirements of the event, growing from a small rectangular marquee to a large, L-shaped structure in 2024.
The quality of the marquee is excellent, it's a very good product and it's a very solid and elegant structure. It's one of the nicest spaces we've got and always has a lot of positive feedback.
Joanna Stachowicz
Graduation Event Manager, Imperial College London
The longevity of the partnership with the university means that our team have the experience and expertise to manage the challenges presented by the site with ease. This makes the process much simpler for the organisers, who can be confident that we know exactly what needs to be done and how to achieve it.
The consistency of a dedicated account manager and build team has enabled a strong working relationship with the university, which allows regular, honest conversations about challenges and a proactive problem-solving approach, enhancing the overall event planning experience.
"Having an account manager that is always the same person, who understand the jobs is great. Also having the same build team on site means that people know the job and they know what issues they might face or what challenges might arise."
Joanna Stachowicz
Graduation Event Manager
If you need reliable support for a graduation celebration, get in touch to see how GL events UK can contribute to the success of your event.
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Testimonial
"Working with GL events UK, we know that the job's going to get done and it's going to be done to a quality that university require. Knowing we're in good hands, with people that know exactly what needs to be done is very useful."
Joanna Stachowicz
Graduation Event Manager, Imperial College London
How can we help?
Get in touch to see how we can support your next graduation event