Excel, which opened its doors in London’s Royal Docks in 2000, has gone on to stage everything from the G20 Summit (2009) and 13 events in the Olympic and Paralympic Games (2012), to flagship gatherings for the likes of Google, Bett, Amazon and Adobe, as well as major trade shows such as the World Travel Market.
In addition to staging some of the world’s largest medical congresses, the venue also played its part during the pandemic by transforming into the NHS Nightingale Hospital London in just nine days.
More recently, it has become a fan-favourite hosting popular consumer shows such as MCM Comic Con, and has become the world’s only indoor/outdoor racetrack for electric race series Formula E. It’s even provided numerous film locations for major Hollywood movies, including Mission Impossible and Batman Begins, together with music videos for the likes of Ed Sheeran and Labrinth.
Today, the venue attracts around four million visitors a year – a million of whom travel from overseas – hosts around 400 events, supports more than 37,000 jobs and contributes to the London and UK economy through business and leisure tourism.
As well as being its 25th anniversary, this year will see Excel become the largest fully integrated venue in Europe as it completes an additional 25,000sqm expansion as part of a key project of ADNEC Group, tallying 125,000sqm in total.
Furthermore, this summer the venue will put the finishing touches to its new waterfront immersive entertainment district – Immerse LDN – which has already sold more than one million tickets to attractions such as The Formula 1® Exhibition.
The lucky visitor turned out to be Nick Fowler who travelled from Cardiff to attend the Learning Technologies exhibition, hosted by organiser CloserStill Media. As a prize, Mr Fowler received a bottle of champagne, tickets to Immerse LDN and a stay in a hotel, presented to him by Caroline Gourlay from Excel and Suzanne King, COO of CloserStill.
Humaid Al Dhaheri, Chairman of Excel London and Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNEC Group, said: “As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we remain committed to further strengthening Excel’s position as a leading hub for innovation, trade and business, playing a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of London’s events industry for decades to come.”
“This is a fantastic achievement for Excel and underpins our ambition to be the best event destination in the world, and a testament to the investment, vision and continued support we receive from ADNEC Group,” added Excel CEO Jeremy Rees, newly appointed member of the government’s new Visitor Economy Advisory Council.
He added: “2025 is set to be a transformational year for Excel and London as we open our new, state-of-the-art expansion, allowing us to connect even more lives through the events we host, and continuing to drive London’s business tourism economy, as we’ve done for the past 25 years.”
