The show saw a 6% increase in international attendees – and returns to Excel London with earlier September show dates for 2027
Brand Licensing Europe wrapped a record-breaking show last week, with 325 exhibitors – the highest ever in the event’s history – taking to the show floor at Excel London
Together, they showcased thousands of license-ready brands that will inform the retail landscape of the next two to three years. Around two thirds of this year’s exhibitors have already confirmed they will return to exhibit at BLE in 2027, indicating the strength of confidence across the industry.
Attendee numbers and quality were on par with 2025’s record-breaking levels, with international attendees rising by 6 per cent, and with more than 1000 retailers among the total. Pre-booked meeting levels reached 7,200 through BLE’s online event planner – up 14 per cent on 2025.
“What an amazing show this has been,” said BLE Event Director Ella Haynes. “Everyone is talking about how busy and buzzy it has been and – more importantly – how everything feels elevated, from the volume and diversity of the brands, to the quality of the visitors and the meetings they are having and our incredible content programme curated by License Global. All of this has truly cemented BLE’s position as the place where the future of brands, retail and fandom happens in Europe.
“I’m ecstatic we have maintained the incredible levels of attendee numbers we achieved last year. It’s important for me to stress – we don’t chase volume for volume’s sake at BLE – our focus is always on quality and ensuring that every single visitor that walks through the door is relevant and qualified
“This year we introduced a small onsite fee to dissuade members of the public from coming into the show from the Excel Boulevard. The fact we did that and still maintained the record attendee levels we achieved in 2025 and such a significant uplift in meetings is incredible.”
There were 85 new exhibitors for 2026, including Hearst, National Gallery, National Trust for Scotland, Ashmolean Museum, Tate Enterprises, ATP Tour, Del Monte Europe, Hammer Film Holdings, Thunderbird Entertainment, Universal Music Group UK, Pony Canyon, CyberAgent, TBS Holdings, Killstar, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and many more.
Next year, the event takes place earlier in the year than usual, returning to Excel London 28-30 September 2027.
