{{Short description|Conference centre in Westminster, London}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox government agency | agency_name = Queen Elizabeth II Centre | logo = Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.png | logo_width = 250px | logo_caption = | image = 2017 Queen Elizabeth II Centre.jpg | formed = | preceding1 = | dissolved = | superseding = | jurisdiction = [[United Kingdom]] | headquarters = [[Broad Sanctuary]], Westminster, London | coordinates = {{coord|51.5005|N|0.129|W|type:landmark_scale:1000_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | employees = | budget = | minister1_name = [[Steve Reed (politician)|Steve Reed]] | minister1_pfo = [[Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government]] | chief1_name = Mark Taylor | chief1_position = chief executive officer | parent_agency = [[Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government]] | child1_agency = | website = {{url|https://qeiicentre.london}} | footnotes = }} The '''Queen Elizabeth II Centre''' is a government-owned conference facility located in the [[City of Westminster]], [[London]], close to the [[Houses of Parliament]], [[Westminster Abbey]], [[Central Hall Westminster]] and [[Parliament Square]]. It was opened by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1986 and can host conferences and exhibitions for up to 1,300 delegates.
==History== The site now occupied by the Queen Elizabeth II Centre was previously occupied by several buildings. At the northern end of the site were the headquarters of the [[Office of Public Sector Information|Stationery Office]], which had originally been the "Parliamentary Mews" built in 1825 by [[Decimus Burton]] and converted from 1853 to 1855. The southern side was occupied by the [[Westminster Hospital#Broad Sanctuary site|Westminster Hospital]], built by W & H W Inwood from 1831 to 1834, and expanded later that century and again in 1924. The previous buildings became surplus to requirements in 1950 and were demolished; designs were drawn up by [[Thomas S. Tait]] for building a new [[Colonial Office]] on the site; however only the foundations had been built by the time progress was halted in 1952.<ref name="Pevsner">Simon Bradley and [[Nikolaus Pevsner]], "London 6: Westminster" (The Buildings of England), Yale University Press, 2003, p. 272-3.</ref>
==Design== In 1958, it was decided that there would be an open space on the southern edge of the site by [[Broad Sanctuary]], and an architectural competition for a conference hall and government offices was held in 1961. The competition was won by [[William Whitfield (architect)|William Whitfield]], but the scheme was not executed due to the plans for redeveloping Whitehall drawn up by [[Leslie Martin]] in 1965. The site remained in limbo until a feasibility study for the conference centre was drawn up in 1975. The centre as eventually built was designed by [[Philip Powell (architect)|Powell]] [[Hidalgo Moya|Moya]] & Partners and constructed by [[Bovis Construction]]<ref>[http://www.hyderconsulting.com/EN/Editorial/Downloads/Footprints%20on%20a%20Global%20Landscape%20-%20Part%202.pdf John Taylor & Sons, Page 100]</ref> with work starting in 1981;<ref name="Pevsner" /> it was opened by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1986.
==Operation== The centre is owned by [[HM Government]] and its operation is conducted by an executive agency of the [[Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government]]. It has 32 versatile "empty box" style rooms which are suitable for a range of events. It specialises in events for between 40 and 1,300 delegates. It also has {{convert|2000|m2|abbr=on}} of exhibition space. The centre is a successful venue hosting over 400 meetings each year and returning an annual dividend to the Exchequer, thus not reliant on the taxpayer for financial support.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
==See also== * [[Alexandra Palace]] * The [[Business Design Centre]] * The [[ExCeL Exhibition Centre]] * [[Olympia, London]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre}} * {{Official website|http://www.qeiicentre.london/}}
{{Communities and Local Government}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Exhibition and conference centres in London]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]] [[Category:National government buildings in London]] [[Category:Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government]] [[Category:Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government]] [[Category:Trading funds of the United Kingdom government]] [[Category:Government buildings completed in 1986]] [[Category:1986 establishments in England]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster]] [[Category:Modernist architecture in London]]