This year’s Brand Licensing Europe (BLE 22) kicks off in just six days and runs from Tuesday 20th – Thursday 22nd September at ExCeL London.

This year’s Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) starts next week and everyone is reminded of the new show opening hours – 12-6pm on Tuesday, 8am-6pm on Wednesday and 9am-4pm on Thursday.

Attendees can register for a free ticket here and immediately start requesting meetings with over 220 exhibiting companies and planning their diary.

“BLE is packed with content this year, so here’s my list of ‘22 things to see and do for BLE 22,” said Anna Knight, SVP Licensing, Informa Markets. “This includes everything from our Fashion Theme to our Sustainability & DEI day on Thursday, 220+ brands, thousands of IPs ready for license, a spotlight on France, daily keynotes, networking drinks and much, much more. We can’t wait to see everyone at the show next week,”

1. NEW! Culture & Unity Catwalk – Thursday 10:00, Catwalk

BLE’s Culture & Unity catwalk show with Black and LGBT+ designers, fashion, models and crew – some fresh from London Fashion Week to inspire your new product range to be more inclusive. Don’t miss DJ Longers – DJ to Cardi B and Idris Elba – playing Afro beat and hip hop.

2. New! Are you a Barbie girl? – Tuesday 13:00, License Global Theatre

A very special opening day keynote – Barbie x Fashion – delivered by Richard Dickson, president and COO at Mattel.

3. Get in character – Tuesday 15:30 & Wednesday 11:30.

The character parade will hop, skip and plod through the hall for their annual photo opp. Make sure to get a selfie with your favourite characters and tag #BLE2022

4.  New! It’s easy going green – all three days

The BLE & POC Sustainability Café will recycle materials from last year’s Sustainability Activation and showcase sustainable consumer products and fashion lines from 12 brands, including Primark, The Eden Project, WasteBuster, Smiley, Wow! Stuff & RSPB, Hasbro & Asda, The Smurfs & Pure Top Table and Discovery.

5. New! Time to be SustainaBLE – Thursday 12:30, Catwalk

Products of Change, with United Nations and Junk Kouture, present an educational and inspiring catwalk show with presentations and performances centred around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Junk Couture will host an exclusive catwalk presenting recycled fashion designed and modelled by 13–18-year-old students.

6. New! Daily keynotes – 13:00 every day, License Global Theatre

·       Tuesday: Barbie x Fashion: Richard Dickson, President and COO at Mattel

·       Wednesday: Leaders Panel: Building a Post-Pandemic Retail & Licensing Strategy

·       Thursday: Panel Discussion: The Good Fight: How Purpose Breeds Success

7. Celebrate the licensing rising stars – finale at 10:30-12:00 Thursday, License Global Theatre[HE1]

8. New! Free orientation sessions and show tours – 12:00 Tuesday and 09:30 Wednesday, License Global Theatre

9. New! Strike a Pose! – Tuesday 17:30 Mattel / Wednesday 12:30 Sega

Don’t miss spectacular dedicated catwalk shows, hosted by Mattel and Sega, showcasing how Barbie and Sonic the Hedgehog have come to life through fashion collaborations. [HE2]

10. Exclusive retailer competition to win £500 of spa vouchers in the Retail Lounge

An exclusive lounge for retailers to meet, relax and recharge as well as talk to the BLE team about taking part in next year’s popular Retail Mentoring Programme. Take part in a competition to create a brand licensing programme for Carte Blanche’s Tatty Teddy to win £500 of Champneys Spa vouchers.

11. Character & entertainment brands and IP

Thousands of brands specialising in character and entertainment IP will be on the show floor, from Warner Bros with The Batman and Hasbro with Peppa Pig to WildBrain CPLG and Peanuts, Banijay Brands with Peaky Blinders, BBC Studios and Bluey, Aardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep, IMPS with The Smurfs, Crunchyroll with Dragonball Z and many more.

12. New! Know it all? –  all three days License Global Theatre

This year’s educational programme goes beyond our daily keynotes to touch on topics including creative design, supply chain challenges, the impact of consumer trends on the future of retail, Location Based Experiences, new age consumer spending, sports licensing and a sustainability case study with Hasbro. Access is first-come-first-serve and free to attend.

13.  Product showcases – every day

Don’t miss the inspiring branded fashion products in our showcases next to the BLE Catwalk as well as dressing up this year’s BLE entrances.

14.  Free advice from Products of Change – every day in the PoC Lounge

Meet the POC team, who will run free drop-in sustainability clinics and member meetups. Stand #F211

15. Brands & lifestyle – brands and IP
The FA, Transport for London, Tour de France, RSPB, Van Gogh Museum, UEFA Champions League, Marie-Antoinette, The Beatles, Absolut, Billie Eilish, Heinz Beanz, Pringles, Peperami, Federation Francaise de Football and Elton John are just some of the amazing brands to discover in our Brands & Lifestyle zone.

16. New! Vive La France!  – 2022 country spotlight

BLE is introducing an annual Country Spotlight starting in 2022 with France, where the licensing market is valued at $6.7bn. Don’t miss the French-themed Opening Night Party and the chance to meet with many exhibiting French brands and agents including Asterix, Tour de France, & Dakar, ChefClub, Ubisoft, Crunchyroll, Sophie La Girafe, Cyber Group Studios, Bandai Namco Europe, Le Petit Prince and many more. Don’t miss French Community Drinks from 17:30-18:00 on the BLE bar.

17. Art, design and image Licensing Zone brands and IP

Meet the winners of last year’s Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition – Joel Mercer and Sophie Jonas-Hill – plus exciting artists and illustrators including V&A Photography, Frida Kahlo and more.

18.  A sporting life!

Don’t miss the huge array of sport brands in our Brands & Lifestyle Zone, including AC Milan, Admiral Sportswear, Chelsea FC, DFB German Football Association, Dorna Sports (Moto GP), FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, FC Porto, Federacao Portuguesa de Futebol, Formula E, Manchester City FC, McLaren, Rugby World Cup 2023, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, The FA, Tour de France, UEFA Club Competitions and WWE.

19.   Cheers!

Please join us for a celebratory drink at one of our networking events (note revised timings):

·       France Licensing Day Launch: Tuesday 20th September 17:30, BLE Bar

·       Opening Night Drinks: Tuesday 20th September 18:00-20:00, BLE Bar & Motul Bar

·       Exhibitor [only] Drinks: Wednesday 21st September 18:00-20:00, Novotel

20.  Aaaand relax…

The Wellness Lounge returns for attendees to enjoy some quiet space to work or take a break from the show floor. Water refill stations and phone charging tables are available.

21.   The queen of arrivals…

Don’t forget that the Elizabeth line has now opened, making it quicker and easier than ever to get to ExCeL from east, west and central London. For information on travelling to ExCeL, click here.

22.  New! Reimagined Licensing U programme

Brilliant online and in-person content for BLE attendees from Licensing International, plus speed networking and mentoring (note there’s a cap of just 250 tickets for in-person content). More here.

The organisers added: “Please note: new show opening hours – 12-6pm Tuesday, 8am-6pm Wednesday, 9am-4pm Thursday; we apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.”

You can find out more on the official BLE website.