The Forum is an iconic landmark in the centre of Norwich. Our city centre venue is home to a year-round programme of events including our flagship festivals, a convenient car park, the Millennium Library and BBC East, amongst others.
Everybody is welcome at The Forum – we’re a public building that’s here for everyone. Designed to be accessible, our building is a friendly space in the heart of Norwich, with over a million visitors each year.
Our stunning building is available for hire, and is the perfect backdrop for your event. We offer flexible and accessible spaces, affordable pricing (including a not-for-profit rate), an expert Venue Hire team, and high footfall – as well as an on-site car park and coffee shop.
Our spaces include The Atrium, a large central space perfect for markets, fairs and expos, The View, a flexible light-filled meeting space, and our purpose-built Auditorium, which seats 120. Our large spaces, like the outside of the building and The Atrium, are bookable by individual zones. Staff set-up and take-down is included in the cost of the venue booking, and our friendly team are on-hand to support where needed.
As well as our hire events, The Forum presents and coordinates a range of amazing festival events for everyone to enjoy. We present Norwich Science Festival; one of the country’s leading science festivals, Norfolk Makers Festival; a celebration of creativity, Norwich Games Festival; an interactive gaming festival, and coordinate Norfolk Heritage Open Days as part of the country’s largest free festival of heritage and culture. There are opportunities for organisations and individuals to get involved with all of our festivals, including exhibitor stands, sponsorship, and partnership events.
The Forum also works with partners across Norfolk to support on large scale events such as Norwich Pride, Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Run Norwich.
The Forum is home to the Millennium Library, BBC East, Pizza Express, Café Bar Marzano, On the Stall City and Norfolk Citizen’s Advice Bureau. There is also a safe and spacious underground car park on-site with accessible spaces and EV charging facilities.
The Forum is managed by The Forum Trust, a registered charity which receives no regular public funding. By choosing The Forum as your venue or parking in our building, you’ll be helping to support our community events, festivals, partnerships and projects.
The Forum opened in 2001, and was the landmark Millennium project for the East of England, part of a £2 billion range of buildings, environmental projects, celebrations, and community schemes funded from the National Lottery to mark the year 2000.