Interview |
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He confirms : “ A phased opening is a blessed relief . For starters , it will enable us to get the right balance between hotel occupancy and events .
“ Initially , the estate will need to breathe . We need to know that the technology put in place today will still be relevant in five years . You don ’ t want fads in big fixed buildings . It has to stand the test of time .
“ We ’ re a heritage destination with modern expectations , so our connectivity and digitalisation have to be world-class . An Olympia-wide
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app may one day give visitors a single touchpoint for how to get here and everything that goes on , including the ability to book hotel rooms , restaurants or tickets for a show , all in one place . Plus , we must retain our flexibility to evolve as technology and demands evolve .”
Out loud , I wonder if the venue ’ s business model needs to evolve , too . After all , earlier this year , ‘ Olympia London ’ rebranded to ‘ Olympia Events ’. Does that mean that the West London venue has ambitions
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Above : New roof reflecting old heritage at Olympia
Left : Olympia , aspiring to be more than a venue for hire
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to become an organiser as well as a landlord ?
“ Olympia London will be the name of the whole estate . Olympia Events is just focused on our events business . If the estate were open , it would make more sense . We ’ ve just gone early to get our ducks in a row ,” O ’ Sullivan clarifies .
However , he continues : “ Are we a venue for hire or an events business ? I want to be all things . You can ’ t keep having straight rentals and push all the risk away . We should share the risk and reap the rewards in partnership with organisers .”
“ Where we have downtime , we want to have the ability to put other events into our spaces – they may be conferences , exhibitions or other event types . We will see how we can add event content via our partner ASM . And we ’ ll see how we can help London attract global touring events .
“ We ’ ll always be true to events heritage . But we ’ ll look at creating Olympia-owned events alongside filling our calendar with exhibitions . If we get it right , Olympia-owned events will complement the existing entertainment and exhibition offer .”
In whichever way Olympia ’ s core exhibitions and events business evolves , it will do so against a highly anticipated entertainment destination backdrop , which promises to be world-class when it starts to open next year .
O ’ Sullivan ’ s mission is to ensure that what happens inside the historic halls and new , inter-connected conference facilities lives up to those world-class surroundings .
“ I say again , a rising tide lifts all boats ,” he concludes . “ We ’ re building this for our organiser partners – to enhance their shows and provide an incredible visitor experience . Wouldn ’ t it be amazing if the world ’ s venues and organisers felt they had to visit Kensington Olympia to understand and experience what world-class looks like ?” EW
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