With an Eye to Customer Experience, BLE Chooses New Venue

UBM, organizers of the definitive event for the licensing industry in Europe, will relocate BLE to ExCeL London next year.

“There’s no denying that Olympia, BLE’s current venue, is a beautiful building with undeniable charm, and several events (including those of UBM) work well there,” says Anna Knight, brand director, BLE. “Nonetheless, it only meets the needs of some of our BLE customers–not all. We are confident that ExCeL can meet the needs of everyone.”

According to BLE, the flexibility of space offered by the ExCeL venue, both in volume and flexibility, supports the future European and domestic attendee growth strategy for the event, and allows the management team to re-draw the floorplan, making it fairer to all exhibitors (no matter their size) and much easier to navigate for visitors. It also allows team BLE to create and further develop even more show enhancements, such as its screenings program and interactive features within

The space will allow UBM to transform the live experience for visitors and exhibitors with increased and improved activations, experiential installations and new branding and sponsorship opportunities.

“In addition to 100,000-square-meters of pillar-free exhibition space, we’ll have access to over 40 purpose-built meeting rooms, the 600-person Platinum Suite, which will revolutionize the theatrical teasers and screenings, and the ICC (London’s largest conference center), which means that all of our exhibitors will be able to host their entire BLE showcase in one venue on a single level,” says Knight. “A purpose-built space offers us more freedom with which to design an amazing event experience and continue to take BLE to the next level.”

ExCeL is also about to be more convenient and accessible for conference-goers, thanks to new improvements in public transportation (the Elizabeth Line, or Crossrail, which is due to complete this December) and its proximity to City Airport, which operates flights to and from many European countries.

“The arrival of the Elizabeth Line this December is a significant development,” says Knight. “Attendees will be able to connect directly from Heathrow to ExCeL in just 43 minutes, as well as go from Central London (Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and Farringdon) to ExCeL or vice versa in 15 to 20 minutes. I’d encourage people to check out the entire Elizabeth Line route as it offers a far greater flexibility in terms of after-hour activities, where to stay and connections from many other parts of the U.K.”

From an after-hours perspective, east London offers even more choices for dining, entertainment and accommodations.

“We are very aware how sociable the licensing industry is, and how important it is to our visitors and exhibitors to have access to great bars and restaurants to continue networking after a full day of meetings,” says Knight. “Bond Street is just 15 minutes away on the Elizabeth Line, Shoreditch is less than half an hour and the Greenwich Peninsula and Canary Wharf are a mere stone’s throw. There are 20 restaurants and bars onsite (compared to just eight in 2009), 500 venues within 15 minutes and thousands more in central London.”

BLE 2019 will take place Oct. 1-3.

BLE 2018 will remain at its current location, Olympia London, and takes place Oct. 9-11. Registration is now open. For more information on the event, visitwww.brandlicensing.eu.

“We are excited to work with our partners, exhibitors and visitors to develop a fantastic reinvigorated show which reflects the innovation and creativity of its participants and look forward to welcoming the industry to East London next October,” says Knight.