About

About & FAQs

Special Requirements

For all those who may have special requirements and may be seeking help and advice, please visit the Information desk on arrival. This will be situated in the Bridge Suite near to registration.

Registration

Registration is available online now, by booking early you not only make a saving, you will be helping the event immensely with upfront funding and more manageable administration. On the day, the registration desk is in the Bridge Suite.

Bridge Suite

The essentials of any AA meeting are found here, along with fellowship, tea, coffee, sandwiches and a range of snacks including "a meal deal" which will be on sale from the kiosk throughout much of the event. Registration, raffle tickets, Share magazine, AA & Al-anon literature along with various souvenirs are found here.

Tower Suite

The Tower Suite, with seating for 550 in comfort, kicks off the weekend at 10am on Saturday morning with the first of 3 fabulous platform meetings with four speakers. We hope to invite a varied and diverse array of speakers, not only from London, but around the UK and beyond. The middle meeting each day includes an Al-Anon speaker.

Sunday morning at 9am we start in the Trinity Suite with a Step 11 platform meeting, followed by 3 further platform meetings as per the published itinerary. Late afternoon rounding off with the “Raffle of Raffles” prize draw and the ever-popular Sobriety Countdown.

The Raffle of Raffles

So called because we believe it’s simply the best, 12 Great Prizes listed, plus a mystery prize. Including the 2 star prizes of weekend stays in top locations. All proceeds help the convention so please be generous, buy loads of tickets! If you or your group would like to finance a prize, please do get in touch londonaaconvention@gmail.com

Come & Go meetings

Come & Go meetings on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am until midnight. America room for topic meetings and the Ludgate Room for Step meetings. On the Friday evening the Discovery room will be open from 8pm to midnight. Please see the published itinerary for full details.

Beaufort and Mortimer rooms

These rooms aim to provide space for varied group meetings, workshops, one off themed AA meetings, popular lead meditation sessions, and there are also opportunities to meet and chat with trustees of our fellowship. There is even a late “Night Owls” meeting for insomniacs and friends. Again please check out the full itinerary.

Evening Entertainment

Both Saturday and Sunday evening are party nights (remember Monday is a bank holiday)

As last year, Saturday is disco night until late. On Sunday its open mic night.... so bring your own talent! We'll provide the the necessary for "Karaoke" but if you have a particular talent, play an instrument, tell a joke, read a poem, juggling, or perhaps you're a fire breathing dragon, we would love you to do a turn. Please rock up and entertain us all. AA meetings continue throughout the evening to drop in and out of.

Admission after 7pm is Free

Al-Anon and Alateen

A variety of Al-Anon meetings will be held over the weekend in the Prescot room.

Alateen meetings and workshops to be confirmed. Timetable for Alateen meetings will be available at the Al-Anon literature table located outside the Tower Suite.

Where is it?

All this at The Tower Hotel, London, E1W 1LD, in the heart of one of the greatest cities in the world. Step outside into London’s history, beauty and sheer magnificence of the River Thames, the Tower of London and St Katharine Docks. Take a cruise on a river boat or a moonlit walk along the South Bank.

Saturday buffet

Feedback from the 2022 convention was that a gala dinner would be welcomed. We investigated this and found that practicality would be an issue in the venue, and when options were explored a buffet seemed like a good alternative

The hotel can accommodate a maximum of just 160 guests in the dining area at once and by offering two sittings we can double this. Therefore you will be asked to choose your sitting preference (early or late) when booking your place.

There will be some flexibility in case you wish to change your sitting option at a later date, but bear in mind that we will be dealing with fixed numbers and it may not be possible in all cases.

Book now!

You too can volunteer to do service at the convention; when you have booked your ticket you will have the opportunity to volunteer.

FAQs

Yes, everybody who attends the event has to pay. This includes members doing service at the convention and includes speakers. As stated in Tradition 7, we are fully self-supporting through our own contributions and like any AA group, the London Convention must cover its financial obligations.

Yes, although as with any self-supporting AA meeting you can be sponsored. At our inaugural convention in 2022 several tickets were donated to newcomers in some cases by sponsors, and in some cases by members who couldn’t make the convention and kindly gifted their tickets on the door.

Yes. In keeping with established criteria, AA are paying for all the facilities which are also being used by Al-Anon for their participation. The registration fees generate income to pay for these costs.

No. Under Tradition 4, the London Convention committee has decided that Alateens and accompanied minors may attend free of charge. Pre-registration is not necessary.

There will be a single bucket near the registration desk for those who wish to make any Tradition 7 donations, although the Convention itself is paid for through the registration fees and any surplus will ultimately find its way through the usual channels as Tradition 7 contributions as well.

Unfortunately not. Following negotiations with our hosts (The Tower Hotel, London), their staff will be providing refreshments and snacks. The final scope and cost per item will be known nearer to the date of the convention, but we managed to negotiate  a very reasonable price for 2022.

We have requested sitting preferences upon booking in order to manage the allocation of seating. You will have the opportunity to change your sitting. In 2023 the early sitting was more popular and sold some time before the event, so please bear this in mind when making your selection.

St Katherine Docks is full of an eclectic mix of restaurants, but booking in advance is advisable because they get very busy during the tourist season and especially at bank holidays.
There is also a Tesco Express supermarket located adjacent to the hotel.

There is paid parking at the hotel for guests, but the nearest public car park is less than a five minute walk away in Shorter Street, E1 8LP. https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/parking/car-parks/minories-car-park (NCP - open 24 hrs)

The convention committee reports directly to both London Regions. They in their turn announce any vacant service positions via the London Intergroups and their groups in turn. Service rotation and service sponsorship follows established AA procedures.