So, are we all ready for BLE next week? For some of us, that entails getting a flight back from the New York Toy Fair on Monday evening to make sure we arrive home in time for the opening of the show on Wednesday. When I started looking at my plans for the two events, that arrangement looked perfectly feasible on paper (if potentially exhausting), until Mick Lynch and his band of merry men decided to throw a spanner in the works.

Visitors to ExCeL will now have to contend with a series of travel hurdles, including a National Rail strike on the Wednesday, compounded by an underground strike on both Wednesday and Friday. Nevertheless, if you scratch below the surface, there is actually a fair bit of good news – what at first glance looks like a bit of a quest that wouldn’t look out of place in a role-playing computer game may actually not be quite so tricky in practice. The truth is that it could have been a whole lot worse.

We joined other representatives from the licensing media on a zoom call with show organiser Anna Clarke earlier this week. Anna and her team have worked tirelessly all week to mitigate the travel burdens of attendees. Ironically, during a conversation with Anna a few weeks ago, reflecting back on the past few years of BLE (last year’s show coincided with the Queen’s funeral, while the year before they had to contend with a flood at the venue and a fire at a hotel next door), Anna told me that she just wanted a quiet year this year. Sadly, The Universe wasn’t listening…

If you read the comprehensive guide to travel options which we put together after the briefing, it will give you a good idea of just how the strikes could impact your own journey, and what the alternatives are. Indeed, so thoroughly have Anna and her team looked into the situation that even people flying into Southend are covered…Southend?! I didn’t even know you could fly to or from there in anything other than a glider, but you live and learn.

The good news is that several key train lines should still be fully operational throughout the week, including the Elizabeth Line and the DLR. That will make a huge difference in actually getting to ExCeL once you are in London. There are also a couple of car parks on site and close by, for those who decide to drive instead. Basically, there are numerous ways and means of getting to the show, and hopefully the vast majority will be able to find a route that works for them.

I even have three options for my journey home on the Friday afternoon, as there are still some variables and the situation may well change between now and then (albeit the third option is sofa-surfing with my youngest daughter, who lives just over the dock from ExCeL, and I haven’t actually told her that yet…).

Long story short, the show must go on. Many people will have already booked hotels nearby, so they should be fine. I suspect that most of us have full diaries – and the organisers have also extended the opening hours for both Wednesday and Thursday to give everyone a little added flexibility in rearranging their schedules if necessary. So far, I haven’t had any cancellations to my schedule, which suggests most people have found a way around the challenges. Indeed, if anyone wants to see me or anyone from the Toy World / Licensing.biz team at the show, we all still have a couple of gaps left in our show diaries, so feel free to get in touch.

If you are still preparing for the show, a great place to get inspiration and ideas ahead of the event is the October issue of Toy World, which landed on desks at the start of this week. You can read the digital version of the issue here – the special extended Licensing World section features a comprehensive show preview, detailing the key licensors to see at BLE in the kids’ and family space. Plus, as an added bonus, there is a comprehensive round-up of the latest character ranges hitting shelves in the coming months.

Accompanying the issue, we also published a special supplement in partnership with Mattel Licensing, which has unsurprisingly enjoyed a stellar 2023. Indeed, 2024 is set to be another landmark year, with the company celebrating Barbie’s 65th anniversary. So, what better time to be looking at everything that is happening with Barbie and Mattel’s entire licensing portfolio, in conjunction with its leading licensees.

Mattel isn’t the only licensing company to have had a positive year: according to Circana, sales of licensed merchandise in the toy market have held up remarkably well so far this year, comfortably outperforming the market as a whole. I suspect that performance has been replicated in other categories too. With the good news that the Hollywood writers’ strike is now effectively over, we can start to look ahead to 2024 with confidence.

BLE is the springboard for those important conversations about next year, especially for licensors and licensees in the European market. The licensing community certainly isn’t going to let a little thing like travel disruption derail such an important event.

The Blog will return after the show, with my thoughts on this year’s event, plus any other talking points affecting the licensing community – and maybe even a bit of gossip too. There have been quite a few senior licensing people moving around in recent weeks, so I am sure there will be plenty to report back on.

See you at ExCeL!