OFFICIAL RELEASE  BLE 2019, 1-3 October, ExCeL London – www.brandlicensing.eu/register-now

Brand Licensing Europe organisers have revealed that eSports will be the focus of one of the show’s two keynotes for 2019.

The Gaming Counter-Culture – The Rising Brand of eSports keynote will feature GAME’s head of eSports and partnerships Mary Antieul, Difuzed’s head of eSports Daniel Amos and David Yarnton, founder and executive chairman of Edge.gg. It will be moderated by Steven Ekstract, Global Licensing Group brand director, and take place at 11:45 am on Thursday 3 October in the License Global Theatre.

“Esports is a truly global spectator sport with nearly 400 million viewers worldwide,” commented Daniel Amos. “As a form of entertainment, it’s growing at a rapid pace. Live events are getting bigger, their frequency is increasing, and events are even now televised. Consumer products based on eSports IP has, until now, only been available at the events themselves or online. With a global audience that is both engaged and hungry for consumer products, eSports has huge licensing potential.”

The keynote is just one of three gaming sessions on Thursday 3 October, BLE’s unofficial gaming day.

“Thursday is going to be THE day for the games industry – retailers, manufacturers, developers and publishers – to visit BLE,” commented event director Anna Knight. “In addition to our eSports keynote, visitors will be able to hear an amazing Tinderbox panel featuring Fashion UK and Microsoft called Console to Consumer – Retail Activation in the Gaming World at 1015, and GfK’s Dorian Bloch tackling the Theatre of Gaming in 2019 with predictions for the industry’s future at 1100.”

BLE is also proud to announce its biggest ever collection of gaming exhibitors, including first-timers Nintendo (E220) and Difuzed (E280) as well as Activision-Blizzard (D300), Sega (A281), Pokémon (D260), Capcom (C321), Ubisoft (B241), Bandai Namco (C202), Sybo Games (C302) and Rovio (B140), as well as The Arcade, an interactive gaming installation created in partnership with PowerStation Studios.

As well as exhibiting some of the most influential players in the industry, The Arcade (D280) will also house a selection of gaming memorabilia and a 14-metre long timeline celebrating the evolution of gaming. Icons and key milestones from the last 40 years will be featured, including Pong to PSVR and everything in between.

In the spirit of a true arcade, there will, of course, be multiple opportunities to get hands on and play some of the latest games, as well as reminisce over some of the classics.

BLE 2019 takes place at ExCeL London from 1-3 October 2019. Register for free at www.brandlicensing.eu/register-now