Diversified Communications UK, the organiser of Natural & Organic Products Europe, announced today that this year’s show (taking place on 13-14 April) will be the last time the event will be held at Olympia Exhibition Centre. From 2015, this increasingly important international event will move to a new home, and benefit from the excellent facilities, at ExCeL London.
The move follows the news that the owners of Olympia Exhibition Centre, Earls Court & Olympia Limited, are entering the final stages of the planned closure of Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which is due to be replaced by a major residential property development. The closure involves losing some 70,000 square metres of exhibition space – or about one-third of the available space in the capital – which has led to the venue owners trying to relocate as many of the affected shows into Olympia as possible.
Commenting on the news, Carsten Holm, managing director of Diversified UK, said: “Olympia has provided a fantastic home for Natural & Organic Products Europe over the years. However, we are concerned that the proposed changes at Olympia may affect our ability to continue to effectively stage Natural & Organic Products Europe and maintain its position as one of the leading events for the sector in the world.
“We have spent over six months considering the options, with input from our industry partners. As a result, we have been lucky to secure a slot at the increasingly popular ExCeL London, where many of the UK’s leading trade events are now held. Best of all, the tenancy is in the South Halls, overlooking the Docks, and enjoys similar dates as now, with the 2015 show scheduled to open on 19-20 April.
“ExCeL London has established itself as a world class venue, with 1,500 bedrooms available onsite, excellent catering and world class infrastructure, including being adjacent to London City Airport. It even has its own banqueting hall on site, where we can hold the Natural and Organic Awards. Plus, in just a few years’ time, ExCeL London will benefit from the £18bn Crossrail development with a dedicated station onsite; taking visitors from Heathrow in just over half an hour and central London in 15 minutes.
“Whilst we will all miss the unique atmosphere of Olympia’s Grand Hall, ExCeL London provides the perfect platform for Natural & Organic Products Europe as we enter the next stage of the show’s – and our industry’s – development. The show will obviously look different at ExCeL London but we will make sure that it looks amazing and retains the unique atmosphere which makes Natural & Organic Products Europe so special.”
The move comes on the back of what promises to be the best Natural & Organic Products Europe ever, with the majority of this year’s exhibition space close to being sold out, and visitor pre-registrations are well ahead of the same time last year.
“We never expected to be in this position but sometimes a ‘little nudge’ like this can force you to do something really exciting, opening up many new opportunities,” explains Holm. “We hope the industry shares our excitement and looks forward to the next chapter as much as we do here at Diversified UK.”
This year’s Natural & Organic Products Europe takes place on 13-14 April 2014 at Olympia London, and includes four show sections: Natural Living, Health & Nutrition, Natural Beauty & Spa and The Natural Food Show. Entry includes access to Keynote sessions, Natural Beauty & Spa seminars and live Natural Kitchen demonstrations.
For further information, and to register for a free trade pass Natural & Organic Products Europe 2014, please visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk (http://www.eventdata.co.uk/Visitor/NPE.aspx?TrackingCode=NPEPR) and quote priority code NPEPR.
