Running from 6th-29th October 2020, the Festival of Licensing will be the most inclusive global licensing event to date.

After much deliberation and consultation with customers, attendees and industry partners, it has been announced that Brand Licensing Europe 2020 will transition to an all-virtual event. In place of the traditional trade show, the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the organiser behind BLE, is introducing the Festival of Licensing, a celebration of the business of brand licensing, in partnership with industry trade association Licensing International.

Running from 6th-29th October 2020, Festival of Licensing will be a four-week virtual gathering, bringing together the licensing industry to connect, learn, strike deals and do business on an international stage. It will be the most inclusive global licensing event to date and builds off the momentum of the Global Licensing Group’s Licensing Week Virtual event, which exceeded expectations in its inaugural launch in June.

Festival of Licensing will comprise of four regionally tailored events in key licensing territories:

• Week 1: 6^th-8^th October – Europe, powered by Brand Licensing Europe.
• Week 2: 14^th-15^th October – Asia, powered by Licensing Expo China and Licensing Expo Japan.
• Week 3: 20^th-22^nd October – North America and Latin America, powered by Licensing Expo.
• Week 4: 28^th-29^th October – Global C-suite virtual conference – Licensing Leadership Summit.

The first three events will be time-zoned around the territories they serve and deliver the following:

IP discovery:

• Exclusive brand and property showcases from up to 300 exhibitors.
• Untapped talent with live License This! and Pitch the Brands competition finals.

Content:

• Live keynote headliners from the world’s most influential brands, addressing the most pressing topics of the current business environment.
• 100+ hours of live and on-demand, territory and category specific content to guide businesses through the new consumer landscape.
• Retailer-only space with exclusive educational content and expert Q&A sessions.

Networking:

• Opportunities to meet, conduct business and strike deals through the Festival Matchmaking Service, enabling both pre-planned online video meetings and impromptu exhibitor booth drop-ins.

Experiences:

• Fully Licensed!, an unmissable programme of special live daily evening entertainment and experiences in each region.
• Community & Wellbeing featuring a celebration of the global licensing industry, a wide range of business/career advice and mentoring, a huge industry fundraiser and wellbeing workshops focused on our physical, nutritional, creative, psychological and social needs.

The festival will conclude with the Licensing Leadership Summit taking place 28^th-29^th October. Originally scheduled as an in-person, senior-level, global gathering of the industry’s C-Suite and thought-leaders from brands, agents, manufacturing and retail, the new virtual offering will draw on key learnings from the previous three weeks and future-looking topics that will facilitate debate and shape the future of the global licensing industry.

Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group vice president, Anna Knight, commented: “Although the decision to transition Brand Licensing Europe to an all-virtual event was a difficult one, I’m proud that we have a comprehensive offering in its place and look forward to the European event kicking off Festival of Licensing.”

She added, “Our partners are telling us that driving domestic and international connections, discovering new IP and brands and learning how to navigate the new consumer landscape are paramount to the health of forward-planning for the business of brand licensing, and Festival of Licensing will support all of these needs. One of the joys of virtual is that it can make the previously impossible possible, and we plan to use the power of the platform to fuel the imagination, delight and inspire in a fitting celebration of this industry and the people within it.”

Brands who are interested in exhibiting should visit www.festivaloflicensing.com.