CEO Jeremy Rees talks infrastructure and tribal behaviour as the Royal Docks venue reports strong performance with the likes of Hyrox
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Following the successful completion of a mammoth project to extend Excel London by 25%, the venue is enjoying something of a purple patch as it attracts new shows and ever-increasing numbers of visitors.
But, if anything, the appetite to forge on and drive things to the next level among the team operating the exhibition, conference and immersive experience hub is greater now than ever.
“Everything we do needs to be looked at through the lens of how we get to be the best event destination in the world,” said Jeremy Rees, who joined Excel in 2010 as sales director and took over as CEO in 2017.
“That comes from standards and values, but also from investment.
“It’s something we will strive to achieve every single time we improve something.
“For example: ‘Is our Wi-fi and 5G technology equal to what the best event destination in the world would offer?’.
“I would say today the answer is no, it needs to improve.
“We’ve assessed what it should be and have invested many millions of pounds, which means in a few months our new system will be up and running.
“When that happens, we will be the world’s most technologically-enabled event destination.
“We’re taking this approach across Excel.
“Our extension is world class and we’ve invested a lot in Immerse LDN, but we’ve also addressed a wide range of things in areas visitors don’t always see.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to have as good an experience as they can, so we’ve been improving the wider infrastructure behind the scenes and the visitor facilities to help achieve that.
“Every week we fixate on how we can make marginal changes to the inside and the outside of our buildings to make them as good as they can be.
“It’s also about being open to feedback and, in the events business, we’re lucky because we constantly get that from visitors and organisers.
“Then we have a framework in place for our teams to think about how we can respond to an issue and in what time scale.
“It might be something we need to plan ahead for, perhaps one, two or three years in the future, but what we have is a constant programme of change and development that asks how we can do things better.
“Expectations are constantly rising and we need to always be thinking about how we rise to meet them.”
shifting the dial
This process of consistent, iterative improvement – never standing still – is perhaps why the venue is busier than ever, recently attracting 250,000 visitors over just seven days from April 19-26, 2026.
Despite much of the capital slowed by a Tube strike, the east London venue hosted 10 events in the period, with the Elizabeth Line unaffected and playing a solid part in helping the exhibition centre record one of its busiest weeks since the 2012 Olympics.
Around 40,000 of those visitors travelled to Excel to collect their registrations for the 2026 London Marathon, with the venue noting that sport and fitness are playing an increasing role in its success.
“It’s an important part of what we do – it’s a sector that’s passion-led, tribal and one that reflects society,” said Jeremy.
“People are thinking more carefully about what they eat and how they look after their bodies and their minds.
“Two or three years ago brands like Hyrox were on their journey to growth.
“Now it’s gobsmackingly astonishing that last year more than 40,000 people took part in Hyrox London at Excel and this year more people will be doing it here than running the marathon.
“It’s a triumph, an event where people at any level can take part and compete for themselves while improving their fitness.”
Hyrox, which sees participants take on a succession of exercise challenges interspersed with 1k runs, held its first event at Excel in 2021 with 650 contestants.
Now hosting events across the globe, the brand has achieved enormous success and its 2026 edition – scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2026, in east London – will also feature Youngstars, its contest for those aged eight to 15.
a destination for competition
“That’s been one extreme, but sports and fitness in a broader sense have long been important for us,” said Jeremy.
“We’ve been hosting the London T100 Triathlon in various forms for 25 years and last year that saw around 6,000 athletes taking part and 25,000 fans attending the event.
“Formula-E has also been astonishing and will return this August.
“Technically it’s a great show and it’s been amazing to have cars break the indoor land speed record while racing through our building.”
On a wider point, Jeremy said it was Excel’s flexibility – the ability to become a race track while also having the likes of Gym Race, Turf Games, ATHX, Nike’s After Dark Tour and the London International Horse Show on its calendar – that was most attractive to organisers.
“This place is a global trade hub, a centre for ideas – somewhere people want to come to listen and learn,” he said. “Then they take those ideas away with them all around the world.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much of an impact our extension has had – building a space organisers were asking for has seen them vote with their feet in the corporate market it was designed to serve.
“Large-scale technology events that once booked one year in advance are now booking three or even five years ahead because they know that our space fulfils their requirements.
“They’ve seen the results and they know there’s going to be even greater demand for it in the future.
“There’s also a real benefit for shows when they become associated with a venue – events such as the World Travel Market, for example.
“For those top tier brands, Excel offers an established ecosystem and the Elizabeth Line enables visitors to access that.
“Take Canary Wharf, for example, which is now three minutes away and has such an amazing selection of bars, restaurants and facilities.
“It’s that quality that is helping us attract these events to London.”
key details: Excel London
You can find out more about events at Excel London on the venue’s website here.
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