UK – ICE 2023 is at 85% capacity.

The 2023 edition of ICE London, scheduled for February 7-9, is on track to match the physical dimensions of the 2020 event, with 85 percent of available booth space already leased. The favorable experience of exhibitors attending in April, combined with the return of the major suppliers to the land-based sector, has fueled demand.

Confirming the news, Stuart Hunter, Managing Director, Clarion Gaming, stated: “We set ourselves some demanding targets in terms of engaging with our customers and I’m delighted to say those targets have been surpassed. It’s clear from the anecdotal feedback, from the independent research that we have commissioned and most significantly from the volume of re-books, that exhibitors at ICE London 2022 enjoyed a hugely successful return to the show floor after a two-year absence due to the Covid restrictions.

“The vast majority of attending exhibitors re-booked during ICE with a significant number requesting additional stand space. We have also had confirmation of the return of the brands supplying the land-based gambling sector and all of the signs are hugely positive for 2023. The ICE brand is returning to its traditional February dates with vigour, determination and a real sense of purpose.”

“Understandably there was some speculation that the 2022 show would lose some of its international appeal due to complications associated with Covid however gaming professionals from 138 nations made the journey to London reinforcing its status as the industry’s only truly global show. I have to reiterate that despite all of the hurdles, all of the issues and all of the speculation – ICE London 2022 was the biggest, most comprehensive and most international gaming exhibition to take place since the previous edition of ICE in February 2020. ICE London remains the event where ideas are formed, new strategies formulated and where the future is written.”

Per Jaldung, Chairman of the European Casino Association, praised the recent ICE data and the restoration of the show to its February dates. “Everyone in the exhibition halls at ExCeL London was reminded of the excitement and vigor of large in-person events,” he said. ICE is the industry’s major worldwide event, and I am happy that the exhibition is nearly full so far in advance of its opening.

“ICE is critical to the rehabilitation of the land-based sector following Covid, and the ECA is collaborating with the Clarion Gaming team on a series of symposia for industry suppliers and casino operators ahead of ICE 2023.”

Aside from the revelation about exhibition capacity in 2023, central London will now be a 12-minute journey for ICE attendees next year, thanks to the opening of the ‘£18.7bn high-speed train line, which reduces Heathrow/ExCeL journey time to 43-minutes.

The door-to-door travel time from London Heathrow, a key international hub used by many ICE/iGB international exhibition visitors, will be completed by Autumn 2022 and will consist of a single 43-minute train journey. London Stanstead airport will take 54 minutes by train, whereas London Luton will take 34 minutes. The Elizabeth Line will run 24 hours a day, with a capacity of more than 500,000 passengers per day.