Ella Haynes, event director, tells Toy World and Licensing.biz readers what there is to look forward to this year and what makes BLE an unmissable event for anyone interested in licensing.
Ella told of how happy she and the team are about attendee numbers this year. The number of exhibitors has surpassed 250 (+14% up on last year), including almost 60 first timers. Read on for an excerpt of our chat with Ella.
It’s always been a great show for the toy industry. What (and who) can visitors from our sector expect to see this year?
Well, toys and licensing have always been such good stablemates, haven’t they? While global toy revenue grew by +1.5% in 2022, licensed toy revenue performed even better and rose by +2% – it really does pay to work with brands.
250 exhibiting companies will be at BLE this October, bringing thousands upon thousands of partner-ready brands with them, hoping to create the next generation of best-selling consumer products that fans will adore. Brands to explore include Sarah & Duck, Pembe the Pink Cat, Tamagotchi, Squishmallows, Playmobil, The World of Strawberry Shortcake, Gigantosaurus, The Little Prince, Moomin, The Smurfs, Simon, Leo the Truck, Call of Duty, Bibi’s World, My Little Pony, Paw Patrol, The Batman, Hello Kitty, Peter Rabbit, Minions, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sophie la Girafe.
Away from the basic meetings and networking, which of the events taking place this year would you consider to be unmissable?
Depending on which sectors you’re interested in, there will be content that’s unmissable to you: we have sectorspecific trend sessions across Sport, Gaming, Fashion, Anime & Animation, and Food & Beverage. There will no doubt be some crossover with many of those sectors and toys. (But don’t forget to leave a little free time to do some ‘showfloor shopping’.)
Also, don’t miss the Green Zone, where there’ll be loads of inspirational conversation, products and businesses to see that can help visitors power their sustainability strategy. New to this year, we also have a Licensee Pavilion and Advice Centre. The winner of License This! will be unveiled on stage immediately ahead of our opening day keynote on Wednesday 4th, and the character parades will be back on Wednesday and Thursday at 11.30am. Finally, if you’re new to licensing or haven’t been to BLE for a few years, you might want to join our free Orientation Sessions and Show Tours. We meet at the License Global Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday at 9.15am.
To read more on what to expect and plan for at BLE, which is beginning tomorrow (4th October), click here.
And don’t forget – despite the planned rail and underground strikes, there’s a whole host of ways to get to London Excel for Europe’s premier licensing event. Click here for a detailed breakdown of your options. See you there!
