BRICKLIVE ExCeL 2017

Brick Fanatics was on the show floor at the ExCeL centre for BRICKLIVE 2017, London’s largest event for LEGO fans

BRICKLIVE has just wrapped up the latest of the touring show’s UK dates for 2017, with a four day event at London’s ExCeL centre from July 27 to 30.

The unofficial celebration of all things LEGO related offered plentiful building opportunities, video game demos and on-stage activity.

The number of attractions offered was smaller than at previous BRICKLIVE events, with less variety in both the type of activities offered and the companies attending. This meant that brick pits returned from previous years, where children can get stuck in with thousands of single colour bricks and new themed build zones were introduced with more specialised elements for fans to construct with.

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Such build opportunities were the dominant feature at the event, although the Kingdoms themed area from Bright Bricks offered a more varied experience. Guests found within a mix of fantasy and castle themed builds, dominated by a huge dragon. The centre of the area was an interactive build, which required visitors to build an upscaled LEGO brick for the Bright Bricks team to add to a growing castle, which was completed by the end of Sunday. Other small activities completed the Kingdoms zone.

The LEGO Group’s only official presence at BRICKLIVE was through the LEGO Mindstorms tutorial area, where Lee Magpili and fan experts taught children how to programme using the robotics system.

WB Games had a variety of LEGO video games for fans to try, including LEGO City Stories and LEGO Dimensions, but the stand-out offering was a chance to play a demo of The LEGO NINJAGO Movie. Brick Fanatics got hands-on with a Playstation controller to share to some first impressions of the upcoming release. The game will be released on October 6, 2017.

If children needed inspiration for what to build with the quantity of bricks available, the Fan Zone had it in spades. Some of the most talented AFOLs offered real-life, fantasy and space themed builds alongside a host of other subject matter. Rocco Buttliere returned to BRICKLIVE with his selection of skyscrapers and landmarks built form LEGO bricks, surrounded by builds representing LUGs including Brick Central and the Brickish Association.

The shopping area included a variety of businesses, from minifigure customisers and bespoke build retailers to charities including Cats Protection. Firestar Toys had a buzz around the stand thanks to popular products including a build-your-own superhero station. As well as the latest cover build, Blocks magazine had a variety of LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series sets on display, including 10179 Millennium Falcon which proved to be a big draw.

The event was rounded out by regular Friends dance parties, on-stage build contests, opportunities to play Minecraft, and an exclusive chance to get hands on with Mayka brick tape. VIP goodie bags contained a poster for The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game along with Minecraft buttons and a DC Super Hero Girls comic.

Attendance was lower than at previous BRICKLIVE events, with the Saturday seemingly the peak of the show’s crowds. The variety offered within the convention was limited, but those who attended primarily to get involved with millions of LEGO bricks were certainly able to.

The next BRICKLIVE event takes place in Belfast from August 3 to 6, 2017.

Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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