Posted 19 October 2025

London Snow Show

We've just come back from the London snow show!

We've just come back from the London Snow Show — returning to its roots at Olympia after several years at the much larger ExCeL Centre. We went in with tempered expectations. Were we right to lower the bar? Here’s what we found.

What Worked Well

Despite the reduced scale, not everything was a step back. Here’s what still worked well.

The show felt busier this year - entry was smooth, and there were plenty of freebies. Several stages hosted talks throughout the day, with lineups clearly displayed. The activities for children were better this year, despite missing the infamous dry ski slope element. The usual copious amounts of free alcohol and breadsticks never disappoints! If you were looking for resort stickers you could have your fill! from the biggest american super resort to the smallest bulgarian slopes.

Where It Fell Short

However the smaller venue did highlight some growing issues. We managed to walk around the entire show in about 20 minutes - and we weren't rushing! Unfortunately there seems to be only four types of exhibitor left attending this show.

• Large Ski Resorts with the budget or connection via a annual pass scheme
• Hotel/Travel groups representing specific ski resorts.
• A small number of ski retailers

Gone are the days of having when Oakley or Burton had stands, we counted two gear shops total! So if you're looking at getting to walk home with a new ski set, you'll be disappointed.

There were some rather obvious oversights, first off there was no map with the exhibitors at all, online or at the venue! The scheduled talk times were seemingly absent from the stage lineups which meant you didn't know if you were late or early. The venue was also incredibly loud, with a band, 4 stages and all the exhibitors competing to be heard in the space.

Behind the scenes

We've spoken to a few key industry insiders off the record about why they chose not to exhibit this year. It turns out the show was purchased last year by Mountain Trade Network who now requires trade membership to exhibit at the show. This has had a knock-on effect which has effectively priced out a lot of the smaller and independent UK businesses and charities. One snowboarding business owner told us his quote for a stand had doubled compared to last year - and was no longer cost effective.

Looking Ahead

We hope these issues can be addressed next year and the organisers restore balance to the show. It’s currently far too resort-heavy, we arn't saying kick anyone out, but they need to bring others in. Long term we have doubts on how much the public will justify the ticket price given the reduced offering (even with the perpetual 50% website discount). Bringing back equipment demos and introducing affordable exhibition tiers for smaller brands would go a long way.

Despite the venue challenges and reduced exhibitor diversity, the London Snow Show remains an enjoyable day out for winter sports fans — just one that needs to rediscover its balance.

3/5