The British Toy and Hobby Association has released a statement reassuring the trade that the annual Toy Fair will take place as planned from 25th-27th January.
The official statement reads: “Over the past months and weeks, we have continuously been monitoring the government regulations and industry guidance in order to best prepare and work towards delivering a safe and successful Toy Fair 2022 for the industry.
We are pleased to confirm, given the government has not changed the conditions under which the fair can take place, that we look forward to delivering a great Toy Fair 2022 at Olympia and to welcoming the industry.
The current regulations allow for large indoor events like Toy Fair to take place with mandatory mask-wearing and Covid-19 status checks, which we will be operating for all participants. The requirements for anyone accessing the halls, including exhibitors, contractors, visitors and staff, will be either proof of full vaccination, a negative PCR or lateral flow test (within 48 hours prior to arrival), or medical exemption.
We would recommend all participants take a lateral flow test before entering the show.
The health and safety of our participants is of utmost importance, hence we continue to track the guidance in order to comply with regulations. We are working closely with Olympia to provide a safe environment with enhanced cleaning, multiple hand sanitising stations and two points of entrance/exit to avoid crowding.
We continue to recommend that exhibitors also strongly factor hygiene into their planning by regularly cleaning high frequency touchpoints and demonstration products, offering hand sanitiser to all visitors and monitoring numbers to avoid overcrowding on a stand. We would recommend participants make appointments to help avoid potential overcrowding issues.
We would also advise in this exceptional year in light of the ongoing pandemic that exhibitors be prudent on expenditure where possible, especially in case the situation or requirements from government necessitate changes.
Once again, we thank you for your understanding, patience and support during these difficult times and look forward to welcoming the industry to Toy Fair at Olympia from 25-27 January.
For any enquiries, please phone the Toy Fair team on 020 7701 7127.”
Toy World readers should look out for an in-depth preview of Toy Fair 2022 in the bumper January issue, which will be landing on desks and doormats soon.
