London Wine Fair to retain time and location in 2018

Despite suggestions that the London Wine Fair could change its timing and location, outgoing director Ross Carter has assured db that neither will be different in 2018.

Despite reports to the contrary, the London Wine Fair is not moving from its current location in West Kensington’s Olympia

“We are booked here for next year in the same time frame, avoiding bank holidays,” he said to db, during a discussion on Wednesday last week at the London Wine Fair, which has been held in May in Olympia for the past three years.

Carter admitted that he has looked at different venues for future London Wine Fairs, commenting that it was his job to consider potential alternative sites as “part of a broader discussion about affordability.”

As previously reported by db, earlier this year Olympia was bought by a consortium of German investors for £296 million, and they have reputedly said that exhibitors can expect an annual 5% cost increase for hiring the space, while Carter said that ExCel, which formerly housed the London Wine Fair, was also becoming more expensive.

“Since Earls Court [Exhibition Centre] has gone, there are only two dedicated exhibition spaces in London, both of which are privately owned, and they are able to demand their price,” he recorded.

Alexandra Palace, Printworks and Evolution are among the possible venues for holding the London Wine Fair that have been considered by Carter.

However, it is felt that Alexandra Palace in N22 is too far from the centre of the capital, while Printworks, a new venue in SE16, was too dark, and Evolution in Battersea Park suffers from limited public transport connections, particularly the lack of a nearby underground station.

He stressed that the London Wine Fair has never considered Battersea Power Station as a venue – there is no exhibition space in the new development – pointing out that this setting had been wrongly reported by a UK drinks trade publication, after it had been suggested that Battersea might be a possible location, referring to Evolution, which is based within Battersea Park.

Having already told db that the fair won’t be moving, Carter said last week that he believed that Olympia was the best place for the London Wine Fair.

“Taking the London Wine Fair back to Olympia was absolutely the right thing to do,” he said, referring to the event’s move to the west London exhibition space in 2014 from ExCel in Docklands, a change that occurred one year after Carter became director of the exhibition.

Continuing he said, “We are dealing with a trade that is heavily involved in the world of restaurants, bars, hospitality and independent retail, and this part of London does speak to the individuals in those sectors – west London is where this event should stay for everyone.”

Carter made these remarks despite the fact he is leaving the London Wine Fair at the end of June to take up the role of ‘portfolio director for the hospitality sector’ at Fresh Montgomery – a London-based events business where former London Wine Fair director James Murray currently works as international sales director.

Next month, Carter is handing over the running of the London Wine Fair to Hannah Tovey, who founded Imbibe Live, although he stressed that there would be some overlap between the two directors.

At the beginning of this year, Carter said to db that The London Wine Fair might ditch its traditional Maytime slot and take place at either end of the year.

Explaining such a suggested shift, he said, “Having spoken to exhibitors and visitors, it is clear that their most significant trading time of the year tends to be the early months of the year – the end of January to March – then things pick up again in September to October.”

However, following last week’s conversation, it is clear that for next year at least, the London Wine Fair will remain in mid-May – which, having spoken to a number of visitors and exhibitors at this year’s event, will prove a popular decision.

Not only does the May-timing give buyers the chance to try wines well in advance of reviewing lists and ranges for the following year, but it also ensures that the London Wine Fair doesn’t clash with ProWein in March, Vinexpo Bordeaux / Hong Kong in June, or a range of events towards the end of the year, from the World Bulk Wine Exhibition to the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair – which are both in November.

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