A new Social Immersive Entertainment Expo (SIEX) will take place in London in 2025 and include an area dedicated to esports and video gaming wagering.
The trade exhibition and seminar programm, focused on the growth in immersive social entertainment, will be co-located with the existing amusement and gaming trade show EAG Expo Europe (pictured) and have its own separate gated exhibition.
The new Social Immersive Entertainment Expo will bring together developers and operators in the scene.
It will take place from January 14th to 16th 2025 at ExCeL London and feature three areas:
- Immersive Entertainment – The Extended Reality (XR) location-based entertainment business, representing commercial Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Reality hardware entertainment applications
- Competitive Play – The esports and video gaming wagering scene, everything from race simulation to esports tournaments will be represented in this area, ‘allowing the industry to see the profitable opportunity to draw the new gaming audience’
- Social Entertainment – The interest and investment in the Competitive Socialising landscape will be presented, ranging from the technology that is driving the ‘food-drink-and-fun’ sector, as well as franchise opportunities in this business
Along with exhibition stands, there will be demonstrations of entertainment hardware, housed within a bespoke area of business pods, allowing franchise businesses to present their unique opportunities.
Esports News UK reached out to organisers to ask about the esports activities at the event.
We were told that organisers ‘intend to have B2B focus, though if exhibitors want us to include some public events we are open’.
The focus will be on the hardware and services – simulator heavy – though some franchise facilities will be presenting their venues looking for franchisees and investors too.
Supporting this industry focus, the social entertainment business will be presented over several seminar sessions, which will see panel presentations from the leading lights across the three business sectors.
“It has been amazing collecting feedback from the trade to establish this social entertainment expo, and I am honoured to be able to work with a proven team on a project that will define the future of the leisure entertainment sector.”
Kevin Williams, KWP, on the Social Immersive Entertainment Expo
There will also be a ticketed social mixer for trade delegates, allowing attendees to meet with those presenters and exhibitors in a hospitality setting.
The EAG Europe Expo is owned and organised by UK trade association bacta (which is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year).
Organisers have enlisted the support of an industry ambassador towards shaping the agenda and supporting the list of participants and sponsors.
Kevin Williams from KWP – an industry specialist in the international immersive social entertainment landscape – has been appointed event ambassador for the Social Immersive Entertainment Expo. He will help develop the event and moderate the show seminar programme, including a session on esports.
Kevin said: “It has been amazing collecting feedback from the trade to establish this social entertainment expo, and I am honoured to be able to work with a proven team on a project that will define the future of the leisure entertainment sector.”
The news comes as the UK esports industry has several major events happening in 2024, but at a time where it’s being impacted by closures amidst the so-called ‘esports winter’.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
