Anna Knight on the Next Generation of BLE

The debut show at ExCeL London marked a new era for Brand Licensing Europe thanks to resounding support from the licensing community. With 260+ exhibitors and a confirmed increase in visitors from 2018’s showcase, License Global speaks with Anna Knight to discuss the 2019 edition of BLE.

“It’s been so enjoyable pulling everything together over the last 18 months,” says Anna Knight, vice president, licensing, Informa Markets. “Thanks to our amazing exhibitors, we’ve been able to carve out 2019 as one of the best years in BLE history. The Arcade, Heritage x Interiors and Beyond the Book have really engaged visitors, but they were part of a much bigger picture. It’s been a great start for the new chapter of the show.”

With Heritage x Interiors offering the best of Van Gogh, V&A, Style Library and Natural History Museum, The Arcade hosting an interactive playground for gaming and Beyond the Book bringing some of the best publishing properties together, the sprawling activations reflect the gravity of this new era and hint at plans for the future.

With five entrances featuring the finest new fashion reveals within licensing and a specially selected License Global Edit of new collaborations on the show floor, Brand Licensing Europe is only just teasing what’s ahead for 2020 with a theme dedicated to fashion.

“Fashion in licensing is an interesting place to be right now,” adds Anna Knight. “There’s so much going on, from sustainability discussions to haute couture collaborations. It’s providing a new way to open up brands and we want to shine a light on that, show how experiential it’s been and how it links back through to brands, lifestyle and art. Fashion and licensing is Zeitgeist-led, it’s visual, on trend, inclusive and ticks all of our boxes for BLE 2020.”

Brand Licensing Europe 2019 (Oct. 1-3) is bringing more to the licensing community over the next two days, from keynotes to characters and catwalks, so be sure not to miss a moment.