With just over five months to go, Informa Markets’ Anna Knight tells LicensingSource how much the team can’t wait to get the European licensing community back together.
Today – Wednesday 2 June – is Global Exhibitions Day, an event which recognises the important role that trade exhibitions play in driving economies throughout the world.
The 2021 GED campaign is focusing on just how instrumental exhibitions are in creating platforms of growth and recovery, while also instilling confidence in others to participate in organised events that prioritise safety and success ‘in equal measure’.
And this is very much the message that Anna Knight, vp licensing at Informa Markets, was conveying when LicensingSource caught up with her last week. With just over five months to go until Brand Licensing Europe returns to ExCeL – from Wednesday 17 November to Friday 19 November – Anna is “not bullish, but confident” on how plans are progressing.
“We’re really excited to welcome people back,” Anna commented. “It will have been two years since the European licensing community met up and everyone is understandably keen for this to happen again. It’s time to start looking forward to trade shows and events again… let yourself be excited!”
The BLE team visited ExCeL last month to see the upgrades which have been put in place to make it a better venue from a Covid safety point of view. And Anna is keen to underline that, as the world’s largest event organiser, Informa Markets’ number one priority is health and safety for exhibitors, visitors and its team.
A look at the ExCeL ‘what’s on’ page also highlights that the venue is ready to get back to business… currently, events are due to begin from 22 June with International Confex, with a host of trade and consumer events following throughout the summer and into the autumn – including the 2021 London E-Prix, DesignerCon London, the London Marathon exhibition, International Franchise Show and The National Wedding Show.
Hotel room bookings for the duration of the show are looking healthy, Anna added. Exhibitors, too, are looking forward to the return of the show. Cécile Chevalier, marketing manager at TF1 Licenses, commented: “TF1 Licenses’ whole team is really excited to attend this year’s BLE! We missed meeting our partners in person and we missed seeing all the great projects in 3D rather than behind a screen.”
Waell Oueslati, director of acquisitions and licensing EMEA at Crunchyroll, concurred: “We’re really excited to be able to go to BLE again and meet all our partners during the event, and the ‘after events’…”
And one final piece of good news from Anna: “We’re really hopeful that the character parade will be back… we’re doing everything we can to ensure the return of this much-loved part of the show.”
Brand Licensing Europe 2021 is due to run in-person at ExCeL from 17-19 November, with an online event following from 30 November to 1 December. Click here for further details.
