• Brand Licensing Europe in-person 17-19 November, ExCeL, London
• Brand Licensing Europe online 30 November – 1 December

29 September 2021  152 companies are already confirmed to exhibit at Brand Licensing Europe 2021, with seven weeks still to go and more expected to sign shortly. The announcement coincides with the launch of the event’s online platform. From today, anyone who is registered for BLE can drop off a virtual business card, search the exhibitor list or IP directory, and start booking meetings for both the in person and online events through the Matchmaking function, sponsored by Flowhaven.

BLE runs in person from 17-19 November at ExCeL London with a follow up event taking place online from 30 November – 1 December. As the first in-person licensing event to take place in over 2 years, BLE boasts a wide range of exhibitors from across the globe with strong representation of Europeans and internationals as well as the UK, covering the full spectrum of categories from sports to animation and heritage to gaming.

They include ViacomCBS, Hasbro, Perfetti Van Melle Group, Panini, Rainbow, SEGA, Vivendi, Coolabi, Warhammer, The Smurfs, Penguin Ventures, Banijay Brands, Crunchyroll, Manchester City, Aardman, Asterix, FC Internazionale Milano, ETS Studios, Kate Mawdsley, Withit Studios, Olympique de Marseille, WWE, MGA Entertainment, Natural History Museum, V&A Imperial War Museum, Sinigaglia, SCRIBOS Asmodee, ZSL (London Zoo), Federation Française de Football, FC Barcelona, Planeta Junior, Sophie La Girafe, England Football, Dorna Sports, Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol, IMG, Magic Light Pictures and many more.

Alexandra Sanson, Brand Manager, Magic Light Pictures: “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to connect with our licensees face to face and look at their amazing products together. We are so excited to reconnect with them in a physical space and to be able to display our beautiful, licensed collections and brands at BLE.”

Cécile Chevalier, Marketing Manager, TF1 Licenses: “TF1 Licences’ whole team is really excited to attend this year’s BLE! We missed meeting our partners in person and we missed seeing all the great projects in 3D rather than behind a screen. BLE is the biggest European event for the licensing business and we’re looking forward to the new experience of this hybrid event.”

Waell Oueslati, Director of Acquisitions and Licensing EMEA, Crunchyroll: “We are really excited to be able to go to BLE again and meet all our partners during the event, and at the “after events”, too.”

BLE Virtual
As well as facilitating introductions, IP discovery and meeting bookings (on and offline), the online platform will host on demand educational content and exhibitor trailers. This content will go live after the in-person event ends on Monday 20th November, and follow-up meetings will be available during BLE Virtual on 30 November and 1 December.

The online meetings function, sponsored by Flowhaven, was launched at BLE (and sister show Licensing Expo) five years ago. In its first year, over 1,200 business meetings were arranged, and 13,783 online profiles created. In 2019, when BLE was last in person, these stats had rocketed to 3,129 meetings.

Anna Knight, VP of Licensing, Informa Markets: “We’re just seven weeks away from meeting up in person again at BLE and to know we will have over 150 companies from across the world exhibiting in London and/or online is fantastic news for the industry and for our visitors. I think it’s fair to say we have all missed that face-to-face time, and it will be wonderful to kick start connections and provide inspiration and food for thought for the European licensing industry once more. And for those attending online, I promise you will not miss out. We will be streaming sessions, vox pop and exhibitor interviews filmed at BLE in London, as well as exclusive, never-before-seen content created for the virtual platform.”

**Ends**

For media information:
Charlie Le Rougetel at BIGTOP
charlie@bigtop-pr.co.uk
+44 (0)7736 330676

Bonnie Simpson at BIGTOP
bonnie@bigtop-pr.co.uk
+44 (0)7834 347644

About Brand Licensing Europe
Launched in 1998, Brand Licensing Europe is the only pan-European annual event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. The London event features over 2,500 brands and more than 7,500 licensees, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and licensing agents. Brand Licensing Europe is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the licensing industry’s leading trade show organiser and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.

About Global Licensing Group
The Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets is the licensing industry’s leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Japan, Licensing Expo Shanghai, The Licensing Leadership Summit, License Global magazine, License Global Daily E-News and The Licensing Mixtape podcast. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by Licensing International.

About Licensing International
Licensing International is the leading trade organization for the global licensing industry. Licensing International’s mission is to foster the growth and expansion of licensing around the world, raise the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners, and create greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community at large. Founded in 1985, Licensing International members in over 40 countries enjoy access to an array of benefits, including extensive educational programming and worldwide networking events. Visit LicensingInternational.org for more information and to utilize licensing’s definitive online resource.

About Licensing Expo
Launched in 1980, Licensing Expo is the world’s largest and most influential annual tradeshow dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Every year, more than 5,000 brands and 16,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers, distributors, and licensing agents attend Licensing Expo from more than 70 countries. Licensing Expo is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the licensing industry’s leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.