Clarion Events extends long-term commitment to Olympia with multi-year exhibition agreements
Clarion Events has strengthened its long-term commitment to Olympia, signing new multi-year agreements over the Summer Months for four of its established exhibitions: The Baby Show, Spirit of Christmas Fair, incorporating The Luxury Travel Fair, Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show and Top Drawer.
The agreement builds on decade long relationships with Olympia and provides long-term certainty for Clarion to continue investing in and developing the shows at Olympia through to 2028.
Together, the four exhibitions attract more than 150,000 attendees annually to Olympia’s iconic heritage halls, managed by Legends Global, and have become established fixtures across the UK’s parenting, retail, travel and Christmas event calendars.
The renewed agreements follow a sustained period of growth for several of the shows at Olympia, supported by the venue’s interconnected spaces, its recent £1.3bn transformation, and central London location.
Spirit of Christmas Fair, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week, has been held at Olympia since launching in 2001. Alongside the co-located Luxury Travel Fair, which celebrates 20 years this year, the event has progressively expanded across the Grand, National and West Halls, accommodating more than 800 brands alongside expanded food, hospitality and visitor event features. Over the past three years alone, the fair recorded cumulative attendance growth of 18%, welcoming more than 55,000 visitors in 2025.
Similarly, The Baby Show celebrated its 25th anniversary at Olympia last month and has continued to experience steady growth at the venue. It’s longevity at Olympia is testament to the long-term partnership between Olympia and Clarion, with the venue’s iconic halls becoming an established and recognisable backdrop to its events.
Combined with Olympia’s prime central London location, The Baby Show, alongside the other Clarion events, have continued to attract high-quality, engaged audiences, connecting exhibitors with the right visitors to support their long-term success.
Russell Rule, Portfolio Director at Clarion Events, said:
“Olympia has an established formula that works for our visitors, exhibitors and commercial partners, and these events have built strong identities here over many years.
“They have continued to grow and evolve at Olympia, and this new agreement gives us the certainty to plan further ahead, invest with confidence, and explore new ways to develop the shows. We’re looking forward to continuing that work with the Olympia team and building on what are already very successful events.”
The agreements come as Olympia completes a major transformation of its wider destination, creating new opportunities for organisers to extend the event experience beyond the show floor. Following the £1.3bn regeneration, organisers and attendees now have access to onsite hotels, restaurants, bars and live entertainment alongside Olympia’s established exhibition spaces. The wider destination is designed to support longer dwell times, informal networking and additional hospitality opportunities around events.
Alex Lewis, COO of Olympia Events, said:
“We’re proud that Olympia continues to be the long-term home of Clarion’s flagship exhibitions and that they have chosen to extend their commitment to the venue. These shows have become an important part of Olympia’s calendar, and their continued success reflects the strength of our longstanding partnership and the versatility of our iconic exhibition spaces.
“This agreement gives us the opportunity to build on that relationship, working closely with Clarion to support the continued growth and evolution of its events, while ensuring we deliver the high-quality experience that exhibitors and visitors have come to expect from Olympia.”
Rule added:
“These events have continued operating at Olympia throughout a significant period of change, and the fact we are now committing for the longer term reflects the strength of the relationship between our teams.
“A successful event depends on having the right venue and the right partnership behind it. What we see in the new Olympia is the potential to add more value around the core event experience, giving visitors, exhibitors and buyers more reasons to stay onsite, meet informally and continue conversations beyond the show floor.”
The multi-year agreements follow a series of significant investments by Olympia in its event offer. These include bringing food and beverage operations in-house under Legends Global earlier this year, with a focus on improving quality, flexibility and customer service across its venues, alongside the introduction of new permanent digital screens in 2027, designed to create additional branding, sponsorship and revenue opportunities for organisers.
Andy O'Sullivan, CEO at Olympia Events, said:
“Our focus has firmly been on supporting the long-term success of exhibitions and securing the long-term future of these established shows at Olympia is a significant endorsement of our venue. With our iconic event spaces, prime central London location and the opportunities created by our wider transformation, we’re proud to offer Clarion a home where its events can continue to thrive, attract high-quality audiences and deliver lasting value for exhibitors and visitors.”
Share
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
Never miss a moment
