London Pet Show, sponsored by MyPetonline, which took place at Earls Court One, was declared a huge success by organisers, with major new attractions taking up double the amount of space at nearly 20,000sqm and a line up of top celebrities creating an enticing draw for over 24,000 visitors over the two days.
Nicole Cooper, Show Director of London Pet Show at Brand Events said: “We’ve taken the show to another level this year creating the highest quality visitor experience through a number of interactive features, arena performances with leading talent and we are delighted with the result.”
Top of the bill was the new SuperDogs Live, hosted by TV presenter, adventurer and dog lover Ben Fogle and sponsored by Direct Line Pet Insurance, seeking the UK’s most talented, heroic and entertaining dogs, with performances twice daily in the Zoflora Super Theatre.
Kicking off with an abseiling Metropolitan Police Alsatian dog being lowered from the dizzy heights of Earls Court One to the sound track of Mission Impossible, the show included heart warming, heroic and spectacular doggy dancing and trick performances, judged by a celebrity panel including Channel 4 Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick and broadcasters Anna Webb and Joanne Good.
Fans of wildlife TV presenter Steve Backshall enjoyed an awesome display of some of the most dramatic predators on earth in an interactive stage show with the likes of a Reticulated Python, Giant Centipede and Alligator Snapping Turtle, live, up-close and on the big screen. Fans were also delighted to meet Steve after his performances for a book signing.
Swedish Rabbit Show Jumping cup holders enjoyed leaping to unbelievable heights to rapturous applause and Bob the Cat and owner James Bowen enjoyed meeting their fans during a book signing as did eight-year old Owen Howkins and his dog Haatchi the three-legged Anatolian Shepherd who recently topped the Sunday Times bestseller list with their heart warming tale.
Visitors to the show were able to meet a menagerie of over 450 pets at the fourth London Pet Show, with lots of experts and talks to learn how to care for them, including BBC Springwatch and Autumnwatch presenter Chris Packham advising on the itchy problem of ticks and fleas as summer approaches who attended with London Pet Show headline sponsor, MyPetonline.
Amanda Melvin, publisher of MyPetonline said: “We were proud to be headline sponsors of this year’s London Pet Show just a year after launching MyPetonline. We see the show as a unique event celebrating everything good about the world of pets and look forward to continuing our involvement and to being part of its development at its new home at ExCel London next year.”
Elizabeth Peplow, Editor of MyPetonline, said: “The London Pet Show is going from strength to strength and really stepped up a gear this year with the expanded floor space and even more fun features. The range of attractions and animals represented is breath-taking making it a fantastic event which we love being part of.
"The London Pet Show audience is, like the MyPetonline team, passionate about pets and our whole team were kept busy over the two days, sharing information and hearing about visitors’ animals, making it a great experience” continued Elizabeth.
The show zones, all as popular as ever included Discover Dogs, sponsored by James Wellbeloved, Discover Cats, sponsored by Royal Canin, Discover Small Furries, sponsored by Burgess Excel and Discover Animals, Aquatics and Reptiles, sponsored by Exo Terra, Fluval and Laguna, each area featuring a raft of different breeds and species, displays and experts to advise visitors on how to care for each kind of pet.
With the closure of Earls Court One at the end of 2014, London Pet Show moves to ExCel London in 2015 taking place on 9th and 10th May. ExCel London situated in the East of London runs over 300 events a year and welcomed over 3.6 million visitors through their doors in 2013.
Building on the success of London Pet Show, in the autumn of 2014 Brand Events launched the National Pet Show, also sponsored by MyPetonline, which takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on 20 and 21 September. The National Pet Show will be a replica of the London event including SuperDogs Live, once again sponsored by Direct Line Pet Insurance and hosted by Ben Fogle.
Nicole Cooper concludes: “We are looking forward to bringing our successful format to Birmingham this Autumn and are working hard to put on a fantastic event for visitors to enjoy and exhibitors to do great sales. Having organised many award winning events at ExCel London over the years we are also excited at London Pet Show’s move there next year and expect a large percentage of our loyal pet loving visitors to attend with the venue’s excellent transport links.”
Catherine, a visitor from Newbury, told the organisers about her visit to the London Pet Show: “Had a great day! Third time we have come to this event which just gets better and better. Hoping to go to the NEC in Sept….”
