submitted by Michelle Kemp, Excel London
ExCeL WELCOMES OVER 250,000 TECH PROFESSIONALS IN ONE MONTH HELPING ‘REBOOT’ LONDON’S VISITOR ECONOMY
▪ Amazon, Adobe and Salesforce amongst global companies hosting events at ExCeL during June 2023 ▪ Over 250,000 tech visitors travel to venue, coinciding with highly successful London Tech Week
▪ ExCeL on track to record busiest ever year, welcoming more than one million international visitors.
London’s largest event venue ExCeL recorded its best ever month for technology events during June 2023, attracting global corporate brands such as Amazon, Adobe and Salesforce, together with almost 250,000 visitors.
With the month coinciding with London Tech Week (10-14 June), an event ExCeL London co-founded a decade ago, the Royal Docks venue hosted a total of 89 events during the 30-day period, the majority of which were technology, AI and fintech focused.
Events included Salesforce World Tour London, Coupa Inspire, Adobe Summit EMEA 2023, Infosecurity Europe 2023 and AWS Summit London 2023.
Earlier this year, London was named the ‘most high-tech city in the world’, according to Z/Yen Group’s Smart Centres Index, beating New York and San Francisco to the top spot. The UK capital is also home to a burgeoning AI sector which boasts some 1,300 companies, more than Paris and Berlin combined. London is home to 320,000 tech employees, compared to Barcelona with 144,000 and Paris at 32,000.
The record June figures also coincide with the venue being on track to achieve its busiest year to date, surpassing its previous all-time best from 2019. This – combined with the transformational Elizabeth line giving frictionless travel across London – has led to ExCeL needing to expand, and is now in the final construction phase of a 25,000sqm development programme. Opening in October 2024, the new expansion will exceed industry standards in sustainability and create additional state-of-the-art ICC convention facilities, exhibition halls and conference rooms.
ExCeL’s CEO Jeremy Rees, who helped found London Tech Week back in 2014, commented: “June has traditionally been a strong month for ExCeL but nothing quite like what we experienced last month. London and ExCeL has a long and successful affiliation with the technology industry, with worldwide brands drawn by the city’s world-class tech professionals and investors, complemented by our own world-class event venue.”
Rees added: “The venue has also seen a steep rise in the return of the corporate event sector following the pandemic. In turn, this had led to hotels on our campus registering high occupancy, and increased international travel into London’s six major airports. We are also seeing a shift towards combined leisure and business visits, all of which are generating a marked increase to the visitor economy of London.”
ExCeL now continues with its packed schedule of events for this year including many other technology shows including the London Climate Technology Show, the Chabot Summit, HETT (the number one digital technology healthcare event) and the technological advanced electric race series Formula E.
For more information on ExCeL visit www.excel.london
Photo credit: Excel London – AWS Summit London 2023 was one of several high-profile tech events hosted at ExCeL London during the month of June.
About ExCeL London
ExCeL London first opened in November 2000, in an area of huge regeneration in London’s historic Royal Docks. More than 20 years later it has become one of the UK’s largest and most successful event venues, hosting some 400 shows per year and welcoming around four million visitors from every corner of the globe. Events hosted at ExCeL generate around £4.5 billion in economic impact for London and support approximately 37,000 jobs throughout the events industry.
Under the ownership of ADNEC, ExCeL has seen significant investment in its facilities and is currently embarking on a further 25,000sqm expansion programme. More recently it has played host to innovative live events such as the all-electric Formula E motorsport championship and Jurassic World: The Exhibition. It also prides itself on championing sustainability and is certified carbon neutral – the first UK venue of its kind to achieve the international recognised PAS 2060 status.