Hire the Royal Festival Hall
Our world-famous venue makes film premieres and awards ceremonies unforgettable for you and 2,500 guests.
Ideal for large-scale events, London venues don’t come more iconic than the Royal Festival Hall.
Get in touchContact our specialist team for more information and to make a booking.
Venue photography
At a glance
Capacity
Seating: fixed raked theatre seating for 2,500 (excluding choir stalls)
Stage dimensions
Depth: 11.25m
Width point: 20.60m
Narrows down to17.50m back of stage
Rates
Day (8am – 5pm): from £29,750* (excl. VAT)
Evening (5pm – 11pm): from £24,000* (excl. VAT)
* Auditorium only – ask us about a full-building takeover and our all day and night packages. We offer a 10% discount to registered charities.
Download a venue hire factsheet for the Royal Festival Hall auditorium
or the entire Royal Festival Hall building.
By bringing your event to our Royal Festival Hall, you’re supporting our mission to keep the arts open and accessible to all.
Virtual tour
What’s included
- Dedicated event manager
- Two technicians and a production manager
- Full team of visitor experience hosts to ensure guests are seated
- Fully staffed cloakroom
- Back of house areas including dressing rooms and green room
- House lighting
- In-house furniture (subject to availability)
- Exclusive use of foyer for catering
- Public wifi
- Air conditioning
- Up to five venue security personnel
- Standard porterage
Additional services
- AV equipment including projectors, screens, lighting
- Ticketing services
- Dedicated wifi
- Extended licence
- Exclusive foyer/building hire
- Merchandise from the Southbank Centre Shop
Catering
We have a carefully selected list of approved caterers who can satisfy a variety of tastes and budgets. Please contact them directly for a quote.
Production
We have an experienced in-house production team as well as a list of approved production companies for all your design and equipment needs.
Views & reviews
A huge thank you to all of the Southbank Centre team yesterday. All the staff were incredibly helpful, friendly and a joy to be alongside – really adding to the overall inclusive feel and atmosphere of the event. […] My inbox is full of messages this morning saying it was the best Penguin Presents yet – including from the CEO who said ‘Every bit of the day was perfect, and every detail was right.’
– Penguin Random House
‘Your colleagues are so kind, accommodating and unflappable. It’s a privilege to work with you all.’
– University for the Creative Arts
‘Thanks for all your help over the years, it’s been really brilliant working with you. Everything has always been so meticulously planned, our suppliers and stakeholders dealt with so readily and professionally.’
– King’s College London
‘Wow what can I say! Thank you for making the EE BAFTA Film Awards such a roaring success. We really couldn’t have done it without your fantastic support throughout and we loved working with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!’
– Lucy Waller, BAFTA
‘Rather than creating a bland venue/client relationship, the entire Southbank Centre event team continually pushed for the best outcome for the event, supporting our large team with their extensive knowledge of the venue. Because of this, and its overall prestigious reputation in the events industry, we’re constantly suggesting the Southbank Centre for events and look forward to working together again soon.’
– Daniel Starmer, Director, DDA Live
‘We chose the Southbank Centre for our TV premiere for a number of reasons, but notably the client wanted a big red carpet area and the venue has one of the biggest in London… We would hire the venue again for future events, without question. The commercial events team were brilliant from start to finish, nothing was a problem and we felt very well looked after throughout the whole process.’
– Andy Ashton, MD, Jubba Limited
‘Thank you so much on behalf of the Nibbs Team, to the Southbank team. I feel we saw every nook and cranny of the Southbank Centre and used it all through this event…your support throughout was invaluable in helping us deliver the red carpet’
– Caroline Lockyer, Nibbs Events
Event services
Catering
We’ve handpicked the best event caterers in London to delight your guests with delicious food and drink tailored to your needs.
Production
Hiring our venues means our backstage team are at your service – the same people who make sure our concerts run without a hitch.
Florists
We partner with some of London’s most experienced and celebrated florists to transform your event with unique floral designs.
Impact & access
Sustainability
We’re committed to becoming carbon net zero by 2040. Find out how working with us will impact your organisation’s emission targets.
Access
Determined to make our venues accessible for all, we’re the first live events organisation to achieve Attitude is Everything’s Platinum certification.