Fu Bingbing

ExCeL London， also known as the London Exhibition and Conference Centre， is a large exhibition and conference centre located between London’s Canary Wharf and London City Airport. It covers an area of 100 acres， was first opened in November 2000， then followed by the second phase of its expansion in May 2010， making it one of the largest and most functional exhibition venues in Europe.

On this edition of our Column， we’ve had the great chance to interview with Jeremy Rees， Chief Operating Officer， ExCeL London， to share his insights into the following operation dynamics of the venue in the post-pandemic era.

“ExCeL， which is London’s largest event venue and opened 23 years ago， is looking forward to another packed events schedule in 2023. We began the year with ICE London， the largest and most important gaming exhibition in the world， and a huge benefactor for London’s inbound tourism and wider economy. Hosting ICE London – which beats all previous records – will remain a highlight. This year the show attracted more than 40，000 delegates from 68 different countries with more than 600 exhibitors on display. It was their biggest and best show yet and hugely successful both for its sector and London. Like most events we host， they are market leaders and staged by leading organisers such as Informa， Reed， Clarion and CloserStill Media.” Jeremy Rees shares with our reporter.

“We will also shortly host the world’s largest education/technology show with BETT， major medical congresses like PCR London Vales and iconic fan events like Star Wars Celebration， which this year will be attended by actor Ewan McGregor. We pride ourselves on the diverse range of events we host， which makes us the home of world-leading events.”adds Jeremy Rees.

Jeremy Rees comments that ExCeL hosts some 400 events and welcomes around four million people every year， and ExCeL already has confirmations to host events in 2024， 2025 and beyond. Live events here in the UK and London are not just back after the pandemic， they are booming which is great to see and a real boost for London and its economy. ExCeL hosts a wide range of events here from immersive experiences like Jurassic World： The Exhibition， through to key business trade shows like World Travel Market later in the year and even world championship sporting events like the all-electric Formula E motor racing series in the summer which attracts a global television audience of 50 million.

“We fully understand the impact Covid has had in all countries around the world up until very recently and the effects this had has on the events industry. Fortunately， here in the UK， we’ve been back without constraints since 2022 and as such， we’re now able to fully focus on what’s ahead. For me， that period showcased the true resilience of not just the events industry but the people who work in the sector.”Jeremy Rees says emotionally.

Advances with the Times

Jeremy Rees firmly believes that 2023 and beyond promises to be an exciting year for ExCeL. They will continue to focus on servicing their customer base which is a diverse range of international and domestic events and corporate clients such as Amazon， Adobe and Salesforce.

“We are well underway with the construction of our 25，000sqm expansion programme for the venue， and it will due in 2024， and will shortly start work on a new dock edge redevelopment as part of wider strategy to attract more live， immersive events. We are also continually investing in our venue， infrastructure and， of course， our team to offer organisers， exhibitors and visitors the best possible experience.” Jeremy Rees states with great expectation.

Of course， there are always market conditions to factor in as with all event venues across the globe. Challenges such as travel friction， access to experience qualified staff and ongoing geopolitical challenges remain key， along with ensuring sustainability remains at the forefront.