Wembley Conference Centre
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| Location | Wembley Park, Wembley, London, England |
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| Coordinates | 51°33′26″N 0°17′05″W / 51.5572°N 0.2847°WCoordinates: 51°33′26″N 0°17′05″W / 51.5572°N 0.2847°W |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 1973 |
| Opened | 31 January 1977 |
| Closed | 2006 |
| Demolished | September 2006 |
| Architect | R. Seifert and Partners |
| Tenants | |
| Benson & Hedges Masters (1979–2006) | |
Wembley Conference Centre was a conference centre in Wembley Park, Wembley, London, England.
In the later 1970s, modern multi-purpose halls began opening in British towns and cities. The first was Wembley Conference Centre on Empire Way in Wembley Park, designed for the British Electric Traction Company by R. Seifert and Partners. Construction began in May 1973 and it was officially opened by the Duke of Kent on 31 January 1977. Its main auditorium (called the Grand Hall) could seat 2,500 people.
The Conference Centre was part of a larger development. Next to it were the 722m² Greenwich Rooms and Elvin House, a futuristic triangular office block, as well as the Wembley Exhibition Centre. Like the Conference Centre, the Exhibition Centre was part of a national trend for such venues.
The addition of the Conference Centre and exhibition hall to the list of visitor attractions at Wembley Park led to Wembley Hill station being renamed Wembley Complex in May 1978. It would retain this name until May 1987, when it was again renamed, this time as Wembley Stadium.
In preparation for a major redevelopment of both Wembley Stadium and the area immediately surrounding it, the conference centre building was demolished in September 2006.
An early event was the January 1977 Model Engineer Exhibition, which had previously been held at the Seymour Hall in Marylebone. On 7 May 1977 the Centre was the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest, where the United Kingdom came second. On 18 October 1977 it hosted the first ever Brit Awards ceremony (then called the 1977 BPI Awards).
The Centre was used for numerous conferences, trade events, exhibitions, corporate hospitality, annual general meetings, university graduation ceremonies, banquets, indoor sport and popular music. However, a classical music concert by the National Youth Orchestra suggested the Centre’s acoustics were at best mediocre, in addition to which it was hard for classical music to attract large enough audiences to fill the Grand Hall.
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