A partnership forged during the early days of ATE is entering a new chapter as EAG Expo and the Showmen’s Guild join forces to deliver fresh opportunities. Plans include adopting a new focus on exhibitors specifically aimed at Showmen and more business-building initiatives, seminars and speaking slots curated for both travelling and settled operators.
Plans to make EAG Expo into a central hub for industry trade associations and their members continue at pace with Chairman Nick Harding and Showmen’s Guild Secretary General Joe Mercer meeting to map-out a partnership programme of joint initiatives and collaborations in the lead-up to and at the 2027 edition taking place at Excel London, 12th – 14th January.
Explaining the broader vision Nick Harding said: “EAG Expo is ideally placed to serve as an industry leading in-person meeting place for the eco-system of trade associations that are active across the broadly based out of home entertainment sector. Our first collaboration is with the Showmen’s Guild whose association with the show dates back to the launch of the original ATE in the 1930s, with the Guild and its members making an important contribution to the success of what was popularly known as the London show.”
“To rekindle that shared purpose, I met with Joe and Public Affairs Manager Desmond FitzGerald to build on the success of the initiatives that were introduced in January 2026. The plans that we discussed include adopting a new focus on exhibitors specifically aimed at Showmen, continued presence for the Guild in the Bacta Business Lounge, and more business-building initiatives, seminars and speaking slots curated for both travelling and settled operators. The prospects of working together in order to attract more members of the Guild to EAG are hugely exciting and make perfect sense for both parties.”
Heralding the collaboration, Joe Mercer added: “I’m delighted that the Guild is working even more closely with EAG, continuing in a long tradition of collaboration which remains as strong today as it did when the first version of EAG – the ATE – was launched in the 1930s and subsequently took residence at Ally Pally, Olympia, and Earls Court. The EAG has blossomed and in recent years the Showmen have re-engaged in greater numbers, as the show has grown, which I’ve seen for myself particularly in the last couple of years. The latest products and trends visitors see at EAG Expo provide inspiration for Guild members who have been delivering fun and compelling leisure experiences for many decades.”
EAG Expo and the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain will be confirming details of the partnership programme which will take place in the lead-up to and at EAG Expo ‘27.
Putting on a Show
Nick Harding said… “The prospects of working together in order to attract more members of the Guild to EAG are hugely exciting and make perfect sense for both parties…
Originally published on Coinslot on June 8, 2026. Republished with permission.