Taking place on Tuesday 13th October 2015 at 11.00am on the show's central aisle, the parade features over 80 licensed characters including familiar faces such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Peppa Pig", "Miffy", "Dennis the Menace" and "Care Bears".
This year, eagle-eyed visitors will be able to spot a number of new faces including Chase and Marshall from "Paw Patrol", Boofle, Lego Scooby and Shaggy, Boj, Bing, the new "Bob the Builder", Twirlywoos and Super Victor, the EURO 2016 mascot. Among the crowd will also be "Danger Mouse", which has just re-launched, and the "Teletubbies" as they prepare to make a come-back to TV screens, including on Nick Jr. and Noggin in the USA in 2016.
The BLE character parade has become a highlight of the show each year, and has evolved from a sporadic few costume characters in the show's early days to the largest parade of its kind in Europe. It takes more than six months to plan and 100 plus people to manage on the day, but David Scott, MD of parade organiser Rainbow Productions says it's all worth it.
"It is a visual feast to watch, and has often been described as a 'lava flow of fluff' moving unstoppably down the show's main aisle," he said. "It's an incredible sight – particularly the expressions of visitors whose looks of surprise turn to frantic grabs of their mobiles to take photographs. It is great to see its popularity grow each year."
This year's parade is 15% bigger than the one in 2014, which counted the "Hungry Caterpillar" and the "Clangers" among its number.
Darren Brechin, BLE Event Director, said: "The character parade is now a well-loved show tradition and an ideal opportunity for licensors to showcase their characters. My tip is to watch it from the balcony where you get the best views and can see this spectacle in all its glory!"
BLE 2015 will feature more than 300 exhibitors displaying more than 2,500 brands available for licensing opportunities, including characters, brands, images, artwork and designs.
In 2014, more than 7,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers and sales promotion professionals attended Brand Licensing Europe from 69 countries. Last year's show also reported a 28 per cent increase in retail buyers from the previous year.
Brand Licensing Europe takes place between Tuesday 13th and Thursday 15th October 2015 at London's Olympia. For more information, visit www.brandlicensing.eu.
Sources: Toys 'n' Playthings, Exhibition News, License! Global
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