Full Venue Hire at BFI IMAX

Britain’s largest cinema screen — 20 metres high by 26 metres wide — inside an iconic circular glass building on the Waterloo roundabout. BFI IMAX isn’t a venue with a big screen; the screen is the venue. When content hits a surface that size with IMAX-grade projection and sound, presentations feel like premieres and brand experiences become genuinely immersive. Full venue hire lets you transform not just the auditorium but the entire building, inside and out. The auditorium seats 497 across 15 rows, all with clear sightlines, including wheelchair-accessible positions. For standing events, the ground floor foyer takes 450 guests for receptions or 200 for seated dinners, making the building a two-zone venue — the auditorium for the main event, the foyer for everything around it.

The IMAX Auditorium

The 497-seat auditorium is the centrepiece. IMAX 2D, 3D, 70mm and 35mm projection systems deliver visual quality that no standard conference or event AV setup can approach. Temporary stages can be built in front of the screen, letting speakers present against a backdrop that fills the audience’s entire field of vision. For film premieres, this is the UK’s flagship screening room — Disney, Warner Bros, Hachette, and the London Business Forum have all used it. But the hire proposition extends well beyond film. Product launches gain a visual canvas that makes even modest content feel cinematic. Conference keynotes benefit from a scale of presentation that keeps attention in a way boardroom screens cannot.

Ground Floor Foyer at BFI IMAX

The ground floor reception space works as the entry point for full venue hire events or as a standalone hire for receptions, product launches, networking events, and photography. With 450-standing capacity or space for 200 seated dinner guests, it’s a substantial event space in its own right — and the architectural setting of the IMAX building gives it a visual identity that generic hotel function rooms lack.

Hybrid Events and Technical Capabilities

The BFI team supports hybrid event formats with livestreaming, remote presentation integration, and live captioning. For international conferences or events with distributed audiences, the technical infrastructure here is built for broadcast-grade delivery, not improvised bolt-ons. All equipment — projection, sound, staging, lighting — comes with the venue’s in-house technical team. Catering is handled through preferred suppliers or client-appointed caterers, giving flexibility on menu style and budget.

Getting to BFI IMAX

The building sits on the Waterloo roundabout, less than a minute’s walk from Waterloo station — one of London’s best-connected transport hubs with Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee, and Waterloo & City lines plus National Rail. The South Bank location puts it within walking distance of the London Eye, National Theatre, and Southbank Centre, with hotels and restaurants concentrated nearby. The venue is fully licensed, air-conditioned, and wheelchair accessible throughout.