Olympia London

About Olympia London

Olympia London is one of the city's flagships exhibition centre, event location and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Each year a wide range of international trade shows, consumer exhibitions, conferences and sporting events are staged at the venue.

Chloe Bowerbank originally introduced the Olympia London. The National Agricultural Hall Company was hired to create the largest entertainment centre in the United Kingdom in May 1884. It was decided the site would be built at Blythe and Hammersmith Roads.

Hammersmith Road, London, W14 8UX
020 7385 1200

History of the Olympia London


The structure was to be designed by Henry Edward Coe, an ambitious architect. The initial plans include a barrel roof at 52 meters. The dimension is wider than the Business Design Center in Islington. Surprisingly, the architect had designed the structure 25 years earlier. Moreover, Olympia’s roof would cover an area of almost an acre with 9,000 fixed seating charts.

Messrs. Walmisley and M. Am-Ende designed the primary roof. At the time, the scope of engineering was limited, so creating the top was challenging. Therefore, the engineers and the architects decided to combine iron, glass, and zinc with supporting the building. Over 2,500 sheets of glass were incorporated to create a unique feature that had survived two wars and the 1987 storm.

The hard work was coming to an end, and Olympia was ready for public access. The name was inspired by relating the events to the Ancient Greeks. At the time of construction, the National Hall in 1922 and the Empire Hall in 1929 were added to the flooring plan to increase attendance.

Since its opening, Olympia has hosted numerous exhibitions on a very large scale. These include the Ideal Home Show, International Horse Show, Smithfield Shows, and military tournaments to connect with the younger audience. One of the reasons Olympia is a popular venue is because of the blank canvas floor plan it offers. The hosting businesses can create temporary work, erect sets, and spectacles to captivate the audience on an international scale.


Olympia London
Facts


Here are a few things you may not know about the Olympia:

  • Olympia London opened to the public on Boxing Day in 1886. A huge audience was spectators to the Hippodrome Circus, which consisted of 400 performers and 300 horses.
  • The venue also offers a multi-layered parking build, one of the first in the UK. Similarly, Pillar Hall was the first screening venue.
  • Jimi Hendrix, the Cure, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, and the Animals have held massive concerts at Olympia London.
  • Olympia’s traffic coordination team was recently rewarded for their expert supervisory strategies. The team expertly direct more than 320,000 antique deliveries for an antique show.
  • The grand hosting venue is built on top of a vineyard. It used to be the Vineyard Nursery in 1745. James Lee and Lewis Kennedy owned the land.
  • Olympia London was also a host to controversy when Joan Grubb rode a horse in gentlemen’s style for the very first time. The Irish socialite rejected the side saddle style at the Olympia London International Horse Show before the First World War.
  • Olympia’s most recent painting required more than 18,000 litters of paint. The grand mosaic was completed in more than 40 days, with 20 decorators collaborating on each brush stroke.

 

Hire Promotional Staff for Olympia London

If you would like professional Exhibition Staff or Promotional Staff in London for your upcoming event in the Olympia London, then get in touch with us today. You can call or email our local office at the details below.

Additionally, you can also check out a bit more about this office, as well as recent reviews on our Varii Promotional Staff (London) Google Business Profile.

Kemp House, 152-160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX
0203 637 9653

Travelling to Olympia London

Looking for another great location to promote your brand in London? Check out Oxford Street.