19 October 2026
Growing demand from North American event planners is helping to drive London’s events industry, according to Excel London who have reported a 60% growth in the number of US events it has hosted in the past 18 months.
In addition, the London venue has revealed that an overwhelming proportion of these (55%) are from major US-based technology companies.
The news was shared during the recent IMEX America in Las Vegas – the leading event for the global business events industry – and just a few months after Excel’s CEO Jeremy Rees joined the ‘Great Together LA Tour’, the largest ever trade mission to the US.
Further data from Excel also shows that its recently opened 25,000sqm (270,000sqft) ICC expansion has already hosted more than 30 major international events – totalling 500,000sqm of rented new space – adding to the 400 events and four million visitors it welcomes every year.
In addition, the venue will have already hosted 18 international association congresses by the end of its first two years of opening (10 in 2026, 8 in 2027), as well as staging major flagship events for the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Gartner and Cisco, the latter arriving in early 2027 and taking exclusivity of the entire 125,000sqm (1.3m sqft) Excel venue.
“From the evidence we are seeing, it is clear that London is not just a global Tier 1 event destination, but it is of real strategic importance for the North American market and the technological sector in particular,” commented Excel’s Executive Director James Rees in attendance at IMEX America.
“As well as seeing brands choose London for their flagship European events, we are also witnessing a growing trend for hosting a series of smaller, standalone events or roadshows, drawn by the city’s connectivity, infrastructure, talent and ability to attract global audiences.”
Elsewhere, London was once again voted Cvent’s number one meeting destination in Europe for the fourth consecutive year, whilst AMEX GBT ranked it top for meetings and events across EMEA for the third consecutive time.
Rees added: “London has firmly re-established its position as Europe’s leading destination for major events and conventions which has been supported by Excel’s £220 million ($291m) investment in its new ICC expansion, along with investment in new hotels and the multi-billion Elizabeth Line which has transformed the experience of international attendees to major events in our city. The demand we are seeing is not only in an increased number of events but also their size, scale and complexity, with this trend showing no signs of slowing.”
