Event Review: HBO Max at Piccadilly Lights, The Venue
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On Thursday 26th March I was in the 10.30 queue, an excited buzz, as I lined up for an HBO Max experience in the heart of London, under the big advertising display at Piccadilly Lights, the Venue (The Venue).
The display overhead was a presence that HBO Max had dominated at one point of its 2 day residency in The Venue (25-26 March). In terms of the screens overhead, HBO took the standard 40 seconds per hour of Screen domination – the content was 3D / Deepscreen. I didn’t see it but reports say it delivered some real impact.
The day before my arrival Piccadilly Lights, The Venue had played host to a number of screen stars – Steve Carell, Lisa Kudrow, Noah Wyle, David Harbour, Bella Ramsey. It is a venue that lends itself well to a private function that opens to become a public event. And just the next day I was able to participate along with a ticketed public audience, in a buffet of TV related experiences, many of which were highly instagramable.
Events agency Electric Sheep had cleverly carved up The Venue into multiple zones and experiences so that visitors could be channelled through a series of photo opportunities, that represented the cream of the HBO Max portfolio.
I was welcomed and put together with 3 others for a touring group of four. Arrival was via the White Lotus hotel reception. I’m not big on watching TV, so I didn’t know White Lotus, but I really liked the photo I had taken of me and later posted it online. I was met with a series of questions from fans – mostly would there be a new series? – and the answer is yes, in 2027. I’ll aim to know a bit more about it, sounds like a series I’d enjoy. This simple share and feedback gave me confidence that HBO Max would garner plenty of intrigue and support by instigating social media using this set of live experiences.
The next photo ops were compact experiential zones for Sex and the City, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. This part of the experience was scripted with photo-taking actor/guides who added character, compliments and connection. They made sure we posed for each photo with a bit of added drama – whether channelling our inner Carrie Bradshaw or casting a Potter spell.
I enjoyed these experiential snapshots, mostly because the brand ambassadors were so engaging. These rooms were closed in, so I had no idea whereabouts I was standing in the venue as I knew it, until leaving the Harry Potter zone. Then I stepped out into a bigger and more open area that I did recognise. It used The Venue’s main screen to showcase HBO Max’s programs alongside an eclectically curated series of memorabilia displays, costumes, artefacts and new season totems. There were nods to many series including The Last of Us and House of Dragon.
Around the corner from here a TNT Sports studio used The Venue’s second screen with its separate sound studio zone, and it this sound exclusion was put to the test very exactingly so that guests could have their own go at sports anchor presentation using autocue and ad libbing. I rather enjoyed this and got a little ego stroking from the studio team as they applauded my moderately fluent performance! There was absolutely zero noise infiltrating from the other screen nearby.
Then I went upstairs to the mezzanine level of The Venue for a glitter makeover, intended to bring alive Euphoria, an HBO Max teen drama about addiction and rehab. Again, not a series I know, but the Brand Ambassador doing my make-up was great taking me through its main themes. She left me aware of a series that sounds engaging in a story with just the right amount of controversy to generate meaningful conversation.
Finally, I went downstairs to Superman’s world, featuring a mock-up of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, complete with dry ice, sound and lighting, and 360° projection. This large space was very cool and atmospheric. This was a zone with high expectation – Electric Sheep Events had been responsible for the high flying Superman stunt above the Shard last Summer.
https://www.the-shard.com/news-events/news-events/2025/look-up
This Superman didn’t quite match that stop and stare dynamic from The Shard, but there was certainly a sense of descending to another planet when stepping down to this area. Up above there had been no hint of this hidden world. The Venue offers a very versatile layout that allows for this zonal change.
I exited via the ground floor, goody bag in hand. Coming out onto the street was like stepping out to the real world after an afternoon at the cinema. It’s a great sign of event immersion when your brain switches mode like that and forgets about the daytime world outside.