Bristol corporate event management - from Harbour-side to Aerospace
In our experience the city of Bristol has more event grade venues than almost any other place outside London - over 300 across the harbour, Clifton, city centre and the aerospace cluster based in Filton.
Planet pursuits is very familiar with Bristol and has been helping clients book events in all the areas mentioned above since 2001. So whether you're planning a customer launch, a theme party, a team day or you simply need help shortlisting the right place to hold your event then this page is where you begin.
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Talk to us about your Bristol event | 01793 772999
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We are:
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Hundreds of Bristol venues briefed
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Twenty-five years on the city's event scene
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Safe Contractor accredited
Our event management experience in Bristol
We have a wealth of event management experience in Bristol venues including:
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Christmas Parties at the Paintworks for OVO Energy
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Team Building from the SS Great Britain for Rolls-Royce
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Theme Party Planning at the Marriott Hotel for Airbus
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Conference Management at We the Curious for Graphcore
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Why Bristol isn't a one-venue-suits-all city
Probably 3 things make Bristol different from other event cities in the UK.
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Firstly, this is a city where the district you choose matters more than which venue. Harbour-side spaces (M shed, We the Curious, SS Great Britain) suit launches and creative events that benefit from atmosphere. Clifton (Avon Gorge Hotel, Barkley Square, for example) suits premium dining and executive hospitality. The centre (Bristol Beacon, Marriott Royal) offers choice venues for conferences and AGMs. Filton (Bristol Aerospace) is in its own category entirely. Picking the right district is half the work - the wanted venue within it is the easier half.
Secondly, in Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway, the city has two mainline stations and they serve different parts of the city. Temple Meads connects to the centre, harbour and Clifton. The second, Bristol Parkway sits north of the city and is closer to Filton, Aztec West and Almondsbury.
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For delegate-heavy events, the station choice changes routes, taxi costs and hotel selection. Get this wrong and your delegates spend 40 minutes in a taxi from Parkway to a harbour venue when Temple Meads would have been a 10-minute walk
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Thirdly Bristol has capacity that many UK cities don't. Bristol Beacon reopened in November 2023 with an 1,800-seat main hall. Aerospace Bristol can seat 600 dining under Concorde. The harbour can host outdoor events for several thousand. For corporate events above 500 guests, Bristol is one of a small handful of UK cities that can hold them indoors all year round.
​How we can help with your Bristol event
Corporate events and customer days
If it's a product launch you're after then Bristol's tech, aerospace and creative sectors generate a high volume of them.
Along with customer conferences and innovation showcase events, we've delivered launches in the harbour area, conferences in the Bristol Beacon and partner days at venues across Filton.
Team building and away days
There are some particularly good venues for these types of events, for example the harbour, the suspension bridge and Bristol street art trails, to name a few.
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Few UK cities can do team days justice and introduce the variety wanted.
Sailing on the harbour, dragon boating between the Arnolfini and SS Great Britain, trails through Stokes Croft or perhaps country-house away days at venues 20 minutes outside the city. Bristol offers lots of choice.​
Themed Parties and Milestone Celebrations
Popular locations for business parties include Bristol's converted warehouses and harbour spaces. These can handle themed events with edge and scale.
A 1920s-themed birthday at one of the Wapping Wharf venues is quite something. An edgy steampunk corporate Christmas at SS Great Britain could be for you.
Of course, an aviation themed brand party delivers perfectly at Aerospace Bristol. This city makes themed events look easy.​
Bristol venue finding
We estimate there are over 300 venues across the city so getting to a sensible shortlist is the hardest part.
We can do that work for you - sourcing, briefing, comparing and booking. You skip the 40 phone calls and walk away with a confirmed venue that fits your brief.​
Some Bristol venues, district by district
Here is a helpful district-by-district short list of some of the venues we work with regularly.
Harbour-side
M Shed
Yes, this really is a converted dockside shed. It seats 200 for dining and is strong for creative and brand events.
We the Curious
Science centre with evening hire, AV pre-rig in place, suits launches and interactive experiences.
SS Great Britain
Dry dock holding the historic ship. Very atmospheric for theme dinners up to 300.
Clifton
Avon Gorge Hotel
Hotel on the Avon Gorge with great views overlooking the suspension bridge. Up to 120 dining, premium position.
Berkeley Square Hotel
This is a Georgian townhouse hotel. It's intimate and great for residential off-sites and executive dinners.
Engineers House
Conference Centre in an 1831 house with scenic grounds and 175 free parking spaces, restaurant in a converted vault
City Centre
Bristol Beacon
Who knew it - a conference venue with the 1,800 seats in the main hall and multiple breakout spaces near it!
Marriott Hotel
More of a traditional conference hotel, this venue seats 600 theatre -style attendees. Good if you need accommodation
Passenger Shed
The Passenger's Shed at Bristol Station is a grade one listed building and one of the largest venues in the South West
Filton
Aerospace Bristol - Located to the north-west of Bristol with convenient links to the M4 and M5. This superb venue offers dinner for 600 under Concorde. Great parking on site and Parkway station just 10 minutes from the venue.
Recent Bristol event work
Client: Profund
Theme party dinner
The Passenger Shed, Bristol, chosen for its vast, cavernous size and scope to create any party theme
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Client: Good Energy.
Christmas Party
The Paintworks, Bristol chosen for its cool, hipster vibe for this forward-thinking company
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Client: Dellagio
M Shed Bristol
Client Hosting Day and product exhibition, chosen for its great open plan and central location ​
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From brief to debrief
All the Bristol projects we do basically run through 5 stages with one project lead from start to finish
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​Discovery (1-2 weeks) - We get the greater detail beyond the basic brief.
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Design and venue (2-6 weeks) - Venue shortlist , design concept and budget agreed.
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Setup Phase - Coordinating all suppliers and tradesmen under our project management.
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Event Day - We run the event for you - from setup on the day to teardown.
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Wrap-up - Within 10 working days of the event, we reconcile costs, analyse surveys and report on lessons learned.​
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All briefs we take on from clients start with discovery by Simon Maddison our founder who's been running and delivering events since 2001.
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"Thank you to Planet Pursuits and their excellent team for the wonderful spy game they arranged around Bristol Harbourside. It was a really engaging and uniting event."
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Robin Southwell, CEO, Airbus
Questions we're often asked about events in the city
Should delegates meet at Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway?
Really, this depends on your venue’s district. As a rule of thumb, Temple Meads is closer to the centre, harbour and Clifton. Bristol Parkway is closer to Filton, Aztec West and aerospace Bristol. Both stations are 15 minutes apart by train. So for a centre or harbour venue, brief delegates to use Temple Meads. For aerospace Bristol or other Filton area venues, Parkway saves around 25 minutes of taxi time.
Is Bristol Beacon fully operational after the refurbishment?
Yes, the Beacon reopened around November 2023 after a multi-year refurbishment. This is now the city's strongest mid-to-large conference venue. Give us a call and we can arrange a private site visit of this new exciting venue.
Can you genuinely host a corporate dinner under Concorde?
Perhaps unsurprisingly we get asked this a lot! Yes, Aerospace Bristol's main hangar holds 600 for a seated dinner directly under Concorde Alpha Foxtrot. There are also separate spaces for drinks receptions and a small lecture theatre as well. Parking is on site and the atmosphere is genuinely one-of-a-kind for UK corporate events in our opinion.
Which Bristol district suits a 200 person Corporate Hospitality Day
In our opinion this would be Clifton if the audience is premium and they want a view of the Avon gorge. Alternatively there is the harbour if you want a creative atmosphere and walking distance breakouts. We have run many a successful team building event from this location around the city centre. Or you could also use the centre if you need accommodation under the same roof as the event. Filton makes sense only if the event ties to aerospace or technology theme.
With so much choice, how do you manage your venue-finding services?
It all starts with your brief, and from that we can offer you venue suggestions. We have over 25 years of experience working in these locations and particularly Bristol, being close to our base in Swindon.
Is Bristol served by good transport links?
Bristol is well served by transport links, by rail with direct links to London and by motorway with the M4 to the north and M5 to the west. Bristol city centre can get busy, so for large events we have used out-of-centre sites and coached delegates in.
Do you have a particular favourite venue in Bristol?
I wouldn't say we had a favourite, as the venue does have to match the client's brief, but as far as a working space, the Passenger Shed at Temple Meads Station is excellent, particularly for product launches, large themed parties, and trade show events.
I hear Bristol is a hip place. Are there particular dates and times in the year I should avoid?
Yes, Bristol is a hip and cool place, making a great location to stimulate fresh ideas. Whilst Bristol is served well by transport links, the short answer is to avoid the Clifton and Harbour side areas at particular dates during July and August for the Balloon Fiesta, especially the weekends in early August. The quietest windows are January to April and October to November.
Looking for a different city?
If you're planning an event elsewhere, then we can help - call us to tell us about your location needs.
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Ready to plan your Bristol event?
Phone 01793 772999 , email events@planetpursuits.com or click to email us via our form
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Most discovery calls run 20 minutes and you'll leave with a directional budget range, suggested Bristol venues that look to be suitable and a recommended format - whether or not we end up working together.
