The annual London Toy Fair kicked off yesterday, celebrating its 59th year as the only dedicated toy, game and hobby exhibition in the UK. The event sees exhibitors showing off their latest additions to the toy, games and hobbies market at what is the largest gathering of toy industry professionals in the UK.
This year’s toy fair is expected to host around 196 exhibitors, who can be large international companies, or smaller operations just starting out.
When the event kicked off yesterday, the Toy Fair announced the winners for the Best New Toys in 2012, which saw 32 winning toys from 25 suppliers picking up awards from the British Toy & Hobby Association. The awards themselves were voted for by a panel of independent retails, and are the toys which are seen to have the most potential when they are launched at the Toy Fair.
The awards saw popular characters such as Hello Kitty, Doctor Who and Fireman Sam all winning something, while the new Best New App Toys category saw AppGear, Moshi App Monster and Tardis Smart Safe all picking up awards.
A main focus of this year’s event is both The Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee, with officially licensed toys from both those events being on display at the three day fair.
Last year’s Toy Fair featured toys from past events such as the Royal Wedding, with Sylvanian Families putting their own spin on the occasion. 2011′s Toy Fair also featured the unveiling of the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle available to buy, which is a staggering 18 feet long and features 32,256 pieces. The puzzle was designed by pop graffiti artist Keith Haring, and only features seven colours.
The Toy Fair takes place at the Olympia’s Grand and West Halls in west London, and features three bespoke cutting mats from artificial grass suppliers Evergreens. The three circular mats are 2 metres in diameter, and feature one-off designs which were picked by the Toy Fair. The mats feature sports track and floral designs. More information can be found on the Evergreens’ blog.
Image via Evergreens
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January 25, 2012
Home and Hobbies