Excel: 25 years in the making

As Excel London looks ahead to its 25th anniversary in 2025, the team at London’s largest event venue looks back on its journey so far…

London’s historic Royal Docks has been home to Excel London for almost 25 years. Dating back to the mid-19th century, they were once the largest enclosed docks in the world at 250 acres and a powerhouse for global trade, business and networking. Towards the late 20th century, the area fell into decline until the arrival of a different transport hub – London City Airport – replacing the steam ships of old and kick-starting what is now considered one of London’s most significant regeneration areas.

The Royal Docks, Newham, East London

Excel’s 100-acre campus bears numerous reminders to this past, from the huge industrial cranes along the dock edge to the life-size bronze statue outside its entrance depicting dockworkers. In fact, the venue recently hosted 89-year-old Johnny Ringwood, who is one of the workers immortalised in the bronze statue and a reminder of the area’s legacy.

Bronze statues of dockworkers outside Excel London

Today, millions are being invested in the area’s housing, infrastructure and transport, together with numerous community projects and charity schemes. The location is even home to the Mayor of London and City Hall.

Excel’s growth & development

Excel London first opened its doors to the events world as a 65,000sqm domestic venue in November 2000. From there, hundreds of international exhibitions and conferences followed, including its first ICCA-rated congress in 2005.

As conference business grew, so did the venue’s offering. This trigger, along with the mayor’s report on London’s need for a convention centre, kicked off the development of the first extension to the venue. This second phase of the venue, which opened in 2010, included the ICC Capital Hall, Auditorium and Capital Suite, providing dedicated spaces for convention content.

Excel London now spans 25,000sqm

In 2009, Excel proudly hosted the G20 Summit in a very memorable moment for those working that day. Head of sales Andrew Swanston likes to remind the team that he has not just met, but shaken hands with former US President Barack Obama!

In 2012, after hosting seven Olympic and six Paralympic games, bringing in 1.5m international visitors, Excel was named the most complex venue in the history of the Games. Colleagues from across the venue and wider events community were involved in the delivery of the games within the venue but also in roles as ‘games makers’ and performers in the opening ceremony.

In 2016, Excel opened CentrEd, its state-of-the-art meeting and training facility offering a dedicated reception area on the waterfront, together with restaurant and conference facilities. As the demand grew for large association congresses, such as European Society of Cardiology and SIBOS, and from corporate tech companies including Google, Salesforce and Amazon, Excel once again saw the need to expand.

European Society of Cardiology congress 2024

As a result of this growth, Excel started planning its new ICC expansion which has its first events in early 2025. The Maritime Suite offers spacious airy conference rooms and foyers, with a large balcony overlooking the waterfront. Meanwhile, the Maritime Halls provide six blank canvas spaces for organisers to present exhibitions or bespoke productions. With the new expansion, Excel now boasts 125,000sqm of event space, making it Europe’s largest fully integrated conference and exhibition centre.

How the venue will look after its 25,000sqm expansion

Excel are also continually investing in the venue’s development. Already this year it has seen the design, development and launch of ImmerseLDN, London’s newest and largest immersive entertainment district. Building on the success of previous immersive events such as Jurassic World: The Exhibition, Disney 100 and Immerse LDN will host up to five global IP events, three of these already announced including The Formula 1 Exhibition, The Friends Experience and Elvis Evolution.

It also boasts a brand-new restaurant; the Waterfront Street Kitchen & Bar, providing a dedicated F&B offering for Immerse LDN visitors, an estimated 2.5 million of them every year once fully open. Excel’s digital technology has also seen significant investment over recent years, with huge screens installed across the venue to improve wayfinding as well as offering organisers, sponsors and exhibitors’ greater opportunities to showcase their events to visitors.

New look for a renewed offer

Come November next year Excel London will have been open for 25 years. In that time the world of events has grown, evolved, innovated and changed, as has Excel, and this is now reflected in its new brand vision. Excel’s brand refresh earlier this year wasn’t just about refreshing its ‘look’ but also redefining its mission – to be the best event destination in the world – its purpose – to connect lives – and its vision – to harness the power of live events to deliver impact, innovation and joy.

Into the future

One of the biggest aspects to affect the entire events industry has been sustainability. In response to this, Excel has been investing in numerous initiatives, such as its wormery and living wall, to ensure it remains a leader in this field. It is also heavily involved in the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative which has set out the actions and processes to support the aim of net zero by 2050.

Excel also partners with five local charities to provide support to key groups within the area: Bonny Downs Community Association, Community Food Enterprise, Newham All Star Sports Academy, Richard House Children’s Hospice and the London Academy of Excellence.

Community Food Enterprise

It has also recently launched its Impact Toolkit as a way of supporting any of its organisers who want to undertake a project that will provide lasting value for London during and after their event. Working with Meet4Impact, Excel is able to help our organisers make meaningful connections within the local community to deliver on their legacy and impact objectives.

With its 25th anniversary in sight, Excel has decided to celebrate this by commissioning People’s Picture artist Helen Marshall to create a huge photo mosaic to be displayed in the foyer of the new Maritime Suite. Entitled ‘Face to Face: Connecting Lives’, the intention is to reflect the power of live events to bring people together, but also showcase Excel’s role in the local community and the Royal Docks.

Here’s to the next 25 years!

For more information on Excel London, visit www.excel.london