# Queen Elizabeth II Centre

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Conference centre in Westminster, London

Queen Elizabeth II Centre Agency overview Jurisdiction United Kingdom Headquarters Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London 51°30′02″N 0°07′44″W / 51.5005°N 0.129°W / 51.5005; -0.129 Minister responsible Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Agency executive Mark Taylor, chief executive officer Parent agency Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Website qeiicentre.london

The **Queen Elizabeth II Centre** is a government-owned conference facility located in the [City of Westminster](/source/City_of_Westminster), [London](/source/London), close to the [Houses of Parliament](/source/Houses_of_Parliament), [Westminster Abbey](/source/Westminster_Abbey), [Central Hall Westminster](/source/Central_Hall_Westminster) and [Parliament Square](/source/Parliament_Square). It was opened by [Queen Elizabeth II](/source/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 [Stationery Office](/source/Office_of_Public_Sector_Information), which had originally been the "Parliamentary Mews" built in 1825 by [Decimus Burton](/source/Decimus_Burton) and converted from 1853 to 1855. The southern side was occupied by the [Westminster Hospital](/source/Westminster_Hospital#Broad_Sanctuary_site), 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](/source/Thomas_S._Tait) for building a new [Colonial Office](/source/Colonial_Office) on the site; however only the foundations had been built by the time progress was halted in 1952.[1]

## Design

In 1958, it was decided that there would be an open space on the southern edge of the site by [Broad Sanctuary](/source/Broad_Sanctuary), and an architectural competition for a conference hall and government offices was held in 1961. The competition was won by [William Whitfield](/source/William_Whitfield_(architect)), but the scheme was not executed due to the plans for redeveloping Whitehall drawn up by [Leslie Martin](/source/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 [Powell](/source/Philip_Powell_(architect)) [Moya](/source/Hidalgo_Moya) & Partners and constructed by [Bovis Construction](/source/Bovis_Construction)[2] with work starting in 1981;[1] it was opened by [Queen Elizabeth II](/source/Elizabeth_II) in 1986.

## Operation

The centre is owned by [HM Government](/source/HM_Government) and its operation is conducted by an executive agency of the [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government](/source/Ministry_of_Housing%2C_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 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) 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.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## See also

- [Alexandra Palace](/source/Alexandra_Palace)

- The [Business Design Centre](/source/Business_Design_Centre)

- The [ExCeL Exhibition Centre](/source/ExCeL_Exhibition_Centre)

- [Olympia, London](/source/Olympia%2C_London)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Pevsner_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Pevsner_1-1) Simon Bradley and [Nikolaus Pevsner](/source/Nikolaus_Pevsner), "London 6: Westminster" (The Buildings of England), Yale University Press, 2003, p. 272-3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [John Taylor & Sons, Page 100](http://www.hyderconsulting.com/EN/Editorial/Downloads/Footprints%20on%20a%20Global%20Landscape%20-%20Part%202.pdf)

## External links

Media related to [Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Queen_Elizabeth_II_Conference_Centre) at Wikimedia Commons

- [Official website](http://www.qeiicentre.london/)

v t e Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Headquarters: 2 Marsham Street Ashdown House Ministers Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister of State for Housing and Planning Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Devolution, Faith and Communities Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government Executive agencies Planning Inspectorate Queen Elizabeth II Centre Non-departmental public bodies Building Safety Regulator Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Homes England Housing Ombudsman Leasehold Advisory Service Local Audit Office Regulator of Social Housing Valuation Tribunal Service Valuation Tribunal for England Other bodies Architects Registration Board Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation Category

Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Geographic Structurae

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Queen Elizabeth II Centre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Centre) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Centre?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.