Underground stations in London warn riders to: “Mind the gap.” In the case of MIP London and London-based content distribution companies, the “gap” that they’re looking at is between what they already do during the London Screenings (taking place February 24-28, 2025) and what RX, the organizers of MIP London (taking place February 24-27, 2025), could offer at no additional cost.
RX seems charged up by the prospect of having so many content buyers in London (an estimated 700 attended February’s London Screenings, after all) despite weather that is expected to be mostly cold and damp (although there is still the possibility of experiencing days with deep blue skies). RX expects some 1,300 participants at its maiden London market.
RX organized a tour of both the conference area of the Savoy Hotel and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) building for VideoAge. Both venues are adjacent to each other and located on Savoy Place, facing the River Thames, but they’re not interconnected, meaning that in order to access each venue one must walk outside. The main entrance of the Savoy Hotel proper is on Strand Street, which is parallel to Savoy Place. The Savoy is also interconnected with its conference area.
Combined, the two facilities will have plenty of meeting and exhibition rooms, but attendees should be prepared to go up and down many stairs as there are three floors at the Savoy (including a ground floor) and four at the IET venue (including a ground floor), plus a terrace on level five. Attendees should also expect long lines at the limited number of entrances. The IET venue also has two large screening room facilities. One, the Kelvin Theater, seats 451 people, while the other, the Turing Theater, seats 175 people. In total, the IET offers 15 exhibition rooms on three floors, while the Savoy has nine small and medium rooms on two floors.
Before agreeing to participate, some London-based distributors said that they’d reconsider their objections to the market if MIP London were to become a replica of what the BBC Showcase used to be, thereby filling in the gap between what they already do at the London Screenings and what MIP London would offer. But before moving on to how to fill in the “gap” let’s continue with the logistics.
Across from the very expensive Savoy hotel there is the more affordable four-star Strand Palace. Other nearby hotels include The Resident and The Z Hotel (both four-star hotels) and Me London and One Aldwych (both five-star hotels). However, buyers will most likely stay as close to Leicester Square and Soho as possible because that is where the London Screenings take place. There are Cinemas on Leicester Square, like the Odeon where All3 Media, ITV, and Fremantle screen. BAFTA is on Piccadilly. That’s where Banijay and Paramount screen. And the Ham Yard Hotel is where Studio Canal, Sony, and Lionsgate screen. The Savoy is a 10-to-15 minute walk from Leicester Square.
The MIP London venues are also conveniently connected by five nearby underground (metro) lines: Circle and District (Embarkment and Temple stations), Piccadilly (Covent Garden), Northern (Charing Cross), and Bakerloo (Charing Cross and Embarkment).
For those participants who do not print their badges in advance, the registration area will be on a side street near the Savoy conference area.
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