industry awards

Bedford, Friday, 14 November 2025.
Retail and supply-chain teams should note two signals of UK attractions growth: the UK Theme Park Awards moving to Wicksteed Park for the 2025 edition and Universal’s public call for suppliers for its planned Bedford resort. The awards, announced yesterday, bring benchmarking and add categories such as IP use, queue/pre-show and tech integration, highlighting demand for content and experience design. Judges combine public voting with expert scoring, offering visibility for vendors and creators. More consequential is Universal’s open procurement: it creates a tangible pipeline for fabrication, themed-entertainment engineering, F&B and flooring contracts that could require certification, increased capacity and logistics planning. For retail professionals this convergence signals opportunities in licensing, onsite retail fit-outs, branded merchandise sourcing and partner-led guest experiences. Immediate priorities include assessing production capacity, compliance readiness, bid strategy; medium-term focus should be securing partnerships that convert award recognition into procurement advantage as projects move through planning and construction.

Kettering, Friday, 31 October 2025.
Organisers confirmed the UK Theme Park Awards will take place at Wicksteed Park in 2025, signalling a shift toward a more experiential format. Held on Thursday, the ceremony pairs operator-led judging — a nine-strong panel of experts — with public voting that opened on Monday and closed on Monday, creating a hybrid scoring model that privileges operational metrics, guest-experience technology and safety standards. New categories such as Best Use of IP, Best Queue Line Experience and Best Integration of Technology signal where procurement and product roadmaps will focus. For operators and suppliers the event is a timely benchmarking and B2B platform ahead of peak buying cycles: expect targeted launches, sponsorship activations and shortlist criteria tied to measurable operational outcomes. Regional hosting at Wicksteed underscores appetite for hybrid conference-and-showcase venues. Retail and F&B suppliers should read shortlist trends as indicators of procurement priorities and partnership opportunities for the coming 12–18 months.

Kettering, Friday, 17 October 2025.
The UK Theme Park Awards moved to Wicksteed Park for the 2025 edition, hosted by Naomi Wilkinson and Dave Payne, with a nine‑member expert judging panel blending operators, tech and media specialists. Most striking: organisers chose Wicksteed — opened in 1921 and Britain’s longest continually operating mainland park — signalling a deliberate shift toward regional, heritage venues as industry hubs. The programme expanded technical and guest‑experience categories (including IP use, queue/pre‑show design and tech integration) and introduced creator awards, while winners were decided by a mix of public voting and peer scoring. That combination raises the bar for evidencing operational improvements, safety upgrades and return on capital, making the awards a strategic platform for operators and suppliers to validate launches, secure sponsorship and shape 2025 season marketing timelines. Public voting window and submission deadlines were set to influence product rollouts and PR plans, so operators should treat the awards as both benchmark and commercial opportunity.

Kettering, Friday, 3 October 2025.
The UK Theme Park Awards moved to Wicksteed Park this year, and the most telling signal for operators and suppliers is the expert judging panel and refreshed categories. Hosted on a Thursday in September, the ceremony combined public voting with scores from nine industry specialists — including senior figures from BALPPA, Attractions.io and editorial leadership at Planet Attractions — indicating clear evaluation priorities around guest experience, technology integration and IP use. New categories such as Best Use of IP, Best Queue Line Experience or Pre‑Show, and Best Integration of Technology spotlight procurement and partnership opportunities likely to drive buying cycles and marketing claims next season. For suppliers, the hosts and production partner choices also map networking leverage and validation routes via award-led promotion. This briefing explains why venue selection, judge composition and category changes matter strategically for product development, tender timing and regional tourism partnerships — essential context for planning pitches and campaigns ahead of the next buying window.

Kettering, Thursday, 18 September 2025.
The UK Theme Park Awards move to Wicksteed Park this Thursday, with Naomi Wilkinson and Dave Payne hosting and a nine‑member expert panel set to judge 22 categories. For retail and procurement leaders, the ceremony doubles as a concentrated sourcing and networking platform: public voting runs July–September, offering a live barometer of supplier capability, IP use, queue design and tech integration across UK parks. New award classes such as Best Use of IP, Best Queue Line Experience and Best Integration of Technology spotlight areas where operators are investing ahead of major developments; notably, Universal’s concurrent supplier call for its proposed Bedford resort amplifies the prize’s commercial relevance by creating near‑term opportunities for vendors. Wicksteed’s selection—Britain’s oldest continuously operating mainland park—frames the sector’s blend of heritage and innovation. Expect reputational gains for winners and a marketplace for procurement teams to identify partners and close capability gaps before large capital projects commence.

Kettering, Thursday, 4 September 2025.
Retail and attractions professionals should note that the 2025 UK Theme Park Awards will be staged at Wicksteed Park on Thursday 18 September, combining public nominations and a nine‑member expert jury to boost visibility for regional operators. Nominations drew more than 14,000 entries and public voting opened on Monday in July before closing last Monday, signalling strong consumer engagement. New categories—such as Best Use of IP, Best Queue Line Experience or Pre‑Show, and Best Integration of Technology—create clearer benchmarking and PR opportunities for suppliers and experience teams. Hosts Naomi Wilkinson and Dave Payne and a TAG Live livestreaming programme promise reach beyond the ballroom. For retailers, the shift outside metropolitan conference hubs suggests potential for destination marketing, local supply‑chain activation and footfall‑led commercial leads tied to award exposure. Expect networking that generates commercial conversations as much as trophies; shortlist and winner lists will offer practical benchmarking data to inform merchandising, guest flow solutions and tech partnerships.