Licensing industry will be brought together for virtual ceremonies on November 9 and December 16 respectively.
This year’s Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards and The Licensing Awards will go ahead as evening events – however, both will now take place digitally.
Both awards events will retain their original dates, with the winners of the B&LLAs 2020 being crowned on the evening of Monday November 9, followed by The Licensing Awards on the evening of Wednesday December 16, attended by thousands from all around the world.
“While we, and so many from the licensing community, had hoped with all our hearts to be able to meet and celebrate the achievements of all facets of the licensing industry in person at the B&LLAs and The Licensing Awards, the ongoing coronavirus situation means we are precluded from this happening,” commented Ian Hyder, joint md of Max Publishing, which owns and organises both sets of awards.
“Despite the inherent challenges the ongoing period has presented, the brand and entertainment licensing industry has done itself proud on the product, retailing and promotional front and as such it is imperative that we honour this excellence – and these virtual extravaganzas provide a safe way of bringing everyone together in celebration,” added Jakki Brown, joint md of Max Publishing.
Paying tribute to the wholehearted support from the industry to the change in format, Rob Willis, director of Max Publishing, added: “We’d like to thank all of our sponsors and the licensing industry as a whole for their continued support, and we look forward to sharing more on how you can get involved shortly – and I can promise you, they will be full of networking fun.”
The finer details of the digital B&LLAs 2020 and The Licensing Awards 2020 – including timings and how companies/individuals can participate – will be announced shortly, but as well as the awards’ announcement, it will include plenty of opportunities to network and have some fun.
The B&LLAs had originally been due to take place in April (at the Hilton, Park Lane, London) and The Licensing Awards earlier this month (at The Grosvenor House Hotel, London), but were both moved to November and December datelines respectively in the hope that the coronavirus situation would have improved. However, due to the ongoing restrictions of social gatherings imposed by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Max Publishing – which owns and organises the awards events – took the decision to make the move online for this year so the industry’s achievements could still be celebrated.
While the finalists of the B&LLAs 2020 can be read by clicking on this link, the shortlist for The Licensing Awards 2020 will be announced in a few days.
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