Factory International Venue Hire in Manchester
If you need a large, flexible event venue in Manchester, Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, suits international conferences, launches, performances, and brand events because it offers up to 13,200 square meters of indoor and outdoor space with specialist event, production, and technical teams.
Located in St John’s, the venue brings an industrial setting, modern architecture, and strong transport links together. You can shape the space around your guest numbers, format, and creative plans, with room for up to 5,000 people across the venue.
Factory International supports conferences, exhibitions, product launches, fashion events, private celebrations, filming, and live entertainment. If you want to explore factory international venue hire, contact the venue team at [email protected] or call 0161 843 8899, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Why Choose Aviva Studios for Your Event?
Aviva Studios gives you a culturally distinctive Manchester venue with industrial scale, adaptable spaces, and in-house expertise for complex events. Its connection to Factory International and Manchester International Festival adds creative experience to the practical work of hosting large audiences.
The building sits in St John’s, close to Manchester’s city center and the former Granada Studios site. Its design by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture creates a strong setting for events that need a clear visual identity.
A Cultural Venue With Industrial Scale
Aviva Studios combines a cultural program with the capacity needed for major business and public events. Large volumes, adaptable layouts, and dedicated production access help you plan events with ambitious staging, audience movement, or large installations.
Hosting your event here also supports Factory International’s work across the arts, community engagement, and creative development.
Flexible Space for Ambitious Ideas
You can hire individual spaces or combine them into a larger venue plan. This lets you create separate areas for registration, presentations, dining, exhibitions, entertainment, and informal meetings.
The venue’s indoor and outdoor areas support both structured programs and more open formats. Your event team can shape the layout around your schedule and audience flow.
Supporting Manchester’s Creative Talent
Factory International brings experience from more than 15 years of producing Manchester International Festival. Its creative industries network and in-house knowledge give you access to people who understand artistic programming, technical delivery, and large-scale production.
That support helps you turn a brand concept, conference theme, or public program into an event with a distinctive Manchester setting.
Which Spaces Can You Hire?
You can hire four connected spaces at Aviva Studios: the Warehouse, Andrew Law Hall, Public Realm, and Social areas. Each offers a different scale and atmosphere, while combined bookings let you build a larger event environment.
The spaces support seated programs, standing receptions, exhibitions, performances, outdoor activity, and guest circulation. Your venue plan can use one area or connect several spaces across the building.
The Warehouse
The Warehouse accommodates up to 4,500 people and provides a high-impact setting for major events. Its universal technical grid, wall anchor points, proscenium door, and direct truck access support large-scale staging, rigging, exhibitions, and live shows.
A retractable wall allows the space to be divided into North and South Warehouse areas. This gives you more control over capacity and event flow.
The Andrew Law Hall
The Andrew Law Hall accommodates up to 1,500 people and works well for conferences, concerts, presentations, and seated events. Tiered seating can be removed, while the supersized stage connects the Hall with the Warehouse for larger productions.
Wheelchair access is available on all levels, supporting inclusive audience planning.
The Public Realm
The Public Realm provides 2,100 square meters of outdoor space with south-facing views toward the River Irwell. You can use it for pop-up experiences, markets, outdoor performances, live music, and brand activations.
The covered Undercroft includes Wi-Fi and supports activities throughout the year. Outdoor power also helps with temporary installations and event infrastructure.
The Social
The Social links the main spaces through shared guest areas. It includes a ground-floor foyer beneath the Andrew Law Hall and Warehouse, along with a physical connection to the neighboring Science and Industry Museum.
Use these areas for arrivals, networking, refreshments, informal meetings, or transitions between event zones.
What Events Can the Venue Host?
Aviva Studios hosts conferences, exhibitions, product launches, brand activations, gigs, fashion shows, filming, and broadcast projects. Its flexible spaces let you choose a format that matches your audience, content, and production needs.
You can also plan receptions, dinners, awards events, seasonal parties, and public programs with support from the venue team.
Conferences and Exhibitions
The soaring indoor spaces create room for keynote sessions, breakout areas, exhibition stands, registration desks, and networking. You can combine presentation areas with catering and display zones to keep the program easy to navigate.
Event technology and production support help you deliver presentations, panel discussions, and large audience sessions.
Product Launches and Brand Activations
The venue gives your brand a high-profile industrial backdrop with indoor and outdoor options. You can build a product reveal, immersive experience, pop-up display, or guest journey across several connected spaces.
The Public Realm adds space for experiential marketing, outdoor installations, and public-facing activity.
Gigs, Fashion Shows, and Celebrations
The Warehouse supports large standing audiences, while the Andrew Law Hall provides flexible seating and a stage-led format. You can also plan fashion shows, awards ceremonies, gala dinners, staff parties, and receptions.
The venue team can help shape the room layout, guest experience, staging, and event schedule.
Filming and Broadcast
Aviva Studios offers large, visually distinctive spaces for filming, photography, and broadcast work. The industrial architecture provides a strong production setting, while loading access and technical infrastructure support equipment movement and complex setups.
Share your production brief with the team so they can match your requirements to the available space.
Event Production, Technical Support, and Catering
Factory International supports your event with in-house technical teams, production expertise, lighting, sound, and food and drink packages. You can discuss the full event plan with the venue team and create a package around your format.
This support is useful when your event includes staging, audience movement, live performance, branded environments, or several spaces operating together.
Working With the Production Team
The production team can help you plan room layouts, schedules, access requirements, staging, and event operations. Its experience spans cultural productions, conferences, music events, exhibitions, and brand experiences.
Send your event brief early with expected attendance, preferred dates, room needs, and production details. This gives the team useful information for building a suitable proposal.
Lighting, Sound, and Event Infrastructure
The venue includes technical infrastructure designed for ambitious events. The Warehouse has a universal technical grid and anchor points, while the Andrew Law Hall offers a flexible stage and specialist sound capabilities.
You can discuss lighting, sound, video, staging, rigging, power, and access during the planning process. The technical plan should reflect your audience layout and the way guests move through the venue.
Food and Drink Packages
Factory International can include food and drink packages in a bespoke event offer. Options can suit a sit-down dinner, reception, food festival, conference service, or informal networking format.
When you enquire, share your preferred service style, guest numbers, dietary needs, and event timings so the team can develop an appropriate catering plan.
Location, Access, and Booking Details
Aviva Studios is located at Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ, in the St John’s neighborhood near the former Granada Studios site and MediaCityUK. Its central setting gives you access to Manchester’s transport network and nearby business, cultural, and leisure areas.
Before you book, confirm the event date, access schedule, capacity, technical requirements, and spaces needed for your format.
Where Is Aviva Studios?
The address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ. The venue sits close to Manchester’s city center, within easy reach of Deansgate, Victoria, the Science and Industry Museum, and MediaCityUK.
St John’s provides a modern neighborhood setting with restaurants, offices, cultural attractions, and public transport connections nearby.
Opening Hours and Visitor Planning
Opening hours change with the program, so check the current schedule before visiting. On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the published opening hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
For an event booking, confirm guest arrival times, supplier access, rehearsals, setup, breakdown, and any evening requirements directly with the venue team.
How to Enquire About Venue Hire
For a bespoke venue hire proposal, email [email protected] or call 0161 843 8899 Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Include your preferred date, event type, estimated attendance, space requirements, catering plans, and technical needs.
For gig or concert bookings, contact [email protected].