In a little over three months, Olympia will open its doors to the 2024 edition of the London Wine Fair – the most important event in the drinks industry’s calendar – and visitor registration is now open. 2024 is set to the biggest event in recent years, with over 400 exhibitors already signed up. These include the UK’s leading agents; generic bodies, spanning the New and Old Worlds including exciting emerging regions; big brands; and niche players. Many will be showing to the UK market for the first time. The Fair will also play host to several other burgeoning drinks categories, from No & Lo to Sake, alongside a plethora of spirits, beers and ciders.
The London Wine Fair is renowned for its innovative and topical content, and this year will see the creation of new features and initiatives designed to challenge, inform and entertain. More detail will be announced over the following weeks, but to whet your appetites, here is a snapshot.
Bottle Reuse Initiative
The results of this initiative, which was platformed by Porto Protocol and Sustainable Wine Solutions at last year’s Fair, will be unveiled; its results are expected to impact the global drinks industry.
Judgement of London at LWF24
The London Wine Fair will host an homage to the late Steven Spurrier’s landmark “Judgment of Paris” Tasting of 1976. The “Judgement of London” will be curated by Ronan Sayburn MS and Sarah Abbott MW with a tasting panel comprising circa 20 of the industry’s most discerning palates.
Hosted Buyer Programme and Concierge Service
The LWF will launch a “Hosted Buyer Programme” which can be accessed by all exhibitors and visitors, giving access to digital networking and the show planner platform. There will also be a full Concierge Service for 50 of the UK’s top buyers.
The Wine Buyers Awards
The London Wine Fair Wine Buyers Awards, which recognise the UK’s leading professional wine buyers, will return with more categories and including two new awards for the best on-trade buying team and best off-trade buying team. The shortlist for the awards will be announced at the London Wine Fair Launch party later this month.
London Wine Fair 2024 Inclusivity Survey
As the biggest wine event in the UK, and being run by a diverse team of women, London Wine Fair is well-placed to platform the issue of inclusivity within the industry. Working with inclusivity experts from the drinks world and taking counsel from leading industry bodies, the LWF is working to devise an Inclusivity Survey for the UK wine industry, the findings of which will be unveiled at the show.
