Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), in partnership with publication License Global, has issued its final call for speakers for the upcoming pan-European brand extension event. The application window is scheduled to close in two weeks on Friday 31 July 2026.
The annual trade show, which connects brand owners with retailers, manufacturers, and licensees, is scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 October 2026 at ExCeL London. Registration for the event is now open, and the digital event planner has officially launched.
“This is the first time in 27 years BLE has invited the industry to submit speaker proposals and it’s proving incredibly popular,” said BLE’s event director Ella Haynes.
“We’ve had 61 applications to date in addition to the outreach that we do each year, and this year’s conference agenda is filling up quickly with only a few spots remaining. We will start announcing the programme – including plans for two not-to-be-missed keynotes – from August once everything is locked in, so watch this space.
“A reminder from me: registration is open and the Event Planner is live, so there’s no better time to sign up and start scheduling your BLE calendar to make sure you get the most from this year’s show.”
Core Themes and Focuses
The conference agenda for the October event has been curated based on European retail trends and attendee feedback from previous shows. The sessions will cover a variety of specialised business sectors and market trends, including:
🍔 Food and Beverage: Exploring the growth of culinary brand extensions, food-service licensing partnerships, and co-branded supermarket product lines.
🎶 Music and Heritage: Strategies for licensing heritage brands, museums, and musical artists.
🎭 Character and Entertainment: Analysing the market forces behind character-driven licensing and global entertainment properties.
📈 Trends and Forecasting: Industry insights into European retail shifts, consumer purchasing patterns, and emerging global markets.
🤝 Operational Panels: Educational sessions focusing on best practices for working with licensing agents, managing manufacturer-licensee relationships, and expanding into new geographic territories.
“We are looking for really engaging speakers who have never been on the BLE stage before. People who have passion, knowledge and access to real world case studies and can make truly insightful contributions to Europe’s leading event for licensing and brand extension. We’re excited to diversify the voices on our stage to deliver truly cutting-edge content to help shape the future of fandom, retail and consumer products. If that sounds like you, get your applications in before 31 July, or we can’t promise you won’t be suffering from some serious FOMO at the show in October,” added Haynes.
Interested applicants are invited to find out more:
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