Barbican to spotlight creative use of spaces at IBTM World
The Barbican will use IBTM World, 17 to 20 November, to show how brands and associations are reimagining its distinctive spaces for high-impact meetings and events. The team will present recent successes that blend culture, design and production expertise, and will invite planners to explore formats that boost engagement, simplify delivery and create lasting value.
“Clients come to the Barbican for ideas as much as for space,” said Jenny Waller, Head of Sales, Barbican. “We collaborate closely with planners to reimagine how our foyers, halls and public areas can work for them, whether that means a catwalk in the Sculpture Court or an immersive performance in the Conservatory. Every commercial event here also supports our arts and learning programme, which matters to clients and their audiences.”
Recent activity has underlined the appetite for inventive formats. During London Fashion Week, the Barbican hosted two major Spring Summer 2026 runway shows.
- Susan Fang’s ‘Air Evolution’ welcomed approximately 300 guests in the Conservatory and transformed the setting with inflatable transparent spheres, scented haze, live music and dance.
- HARRI’s ‘Museum Wear’ brought approximately 450 guests to the open-air Sculpture Court where models moved through the space with the Barbican’s brutalist architecture as a dramatic backdrop.
These projects demonstrate how thoughtfully curated production, strong in-house technical support and careful audience flow can turn unusual spaces into unforgettable stages.
That creative momentum has extended across other business events.
- The Barbican welcomed the World Design Congress 2025, a two-day Design for Planet gathering hosted by the Design Council in September. International delegates came together for keynotes, conversations and hands-on workshops that explored how design can accelerate positive change.
- The venue also hosted Playgrounds: In Motion Festival 2025, which returned and expanded with world-class talks and interactive activations for thousands of attendees across multiple days.
Both events made use of the Barbican’s variety of rooms and spaces to mix plenary moments with discovery, networking and pop-up showcases.
Planners choosing the Barbican benefit from versatile spaces across the estate, experienced production and operations teams, and an approach that balances creativity with practicality. Commercial event income is reinvested into the Barbican’s arts and learning activity, creating cultural and community benefits that many clients want to align with. The upcoming Barbican Renewal programme will enhance accessibility, sustainability and functionality across the Grade II listed estate while preserving its architectural character.
“At IBTM World we will be sharing case studies, technical floor plans and build schedules to help planners see what is possible in real terms,” added Waller. “Whether you are designing a conference with moments of spectacle, a brand experience that needs a distinctive setting, or a gala that calls for creative staging, we can help you deliver something original and dependable.”
Barbican representatives will be available on stand G30 throughout the show to discuss upcoming briefs, walk through example layouts and talk about how creative use of space can lift audience attention, sponsorship value and content capture.
https://www.barbican.org.uk/hire/venue-hire/fashion-and-brands-at-the-barbican-centre
About Barbican Business Events
The Barbican is one of the world’s leading conference and international arts venues. Located in the City of London, it is capable of holding meetings from 10-2,000 delegates in its fully equipped concert hall, theatres, conference suites and boardrooms. Barbican Business Events brings together the venue’s expertise in the arts and corporate meetings.
Built as part of London’s Barbican development and officially opened in March 1982 by HM Queen Elizabeth, unlike many other venues, Barbican was specifically built with the dual purpose of holding conferences and arts events presenting a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and creative learning.
The Barbican’s Business Events team contributes to the venue’s future success. To make the most of the Barbican’s rich culture and heritage, Barbican Business Events was created to bring together their expertise in three very different areas – the arts, creative learning and corporate business. This approach to corporate events is based on stronger, more in-depth partnerships with their artistic, creative learning and development teams in order to bring more creativity and rich content to events.
The Barbican provides a vibrant and inspiring venue for corporate events, conferences, meetings and entertainment. The venue is capable of holding meetings from 10-2,000 delegates in spaces including a concert hall, theatres, a boardroom and conference suites that can accommodate 10-170 delegates and can be adjusted using sound proofed sliding. As part of its wider investment strategy, the Barbican spent £2.2m on a significant refurbishment throughout the Centre in the summer of 2016 including its Frobisher rooms and Level 4. The focus of the Frobisher refurbishment is designed to create an even stronger connection between the Centre’s main conference and meeting facilities and its arts spaces.
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over a million people attend events annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas 1, 2 and 3, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, public spaces, a library, the Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre.
