London Book Fair Reports 'Around 30,000' Attendees

The 2025 London Book Fair drew ‘around 30,000’ attendees and a 10-percent boost in rights-center table sales.

On the exhibition floor, a much lighter level of footfall at London Book Fair 2025 on its third day. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

550 Tables Sold in the Rights Center

Citing numbers closely in line with those of 2024, the new Adam Ridgway administration of London Book Fair has announced tonight (March 13) that “around 30,000” attendees were at the 2025 edition of the trade show, which has closed its three-day run today.

The show reports that had more than 1,000 exhibitors—a number that surely could be expressed in an exact figure to make it more informative.

Described as a 10-percent increase over the 2024 number, the International Rights Center is said to have sold a total 550 tables, the rights-trading area returning to a single floor, utilizing parts of first floor in both the National and Grand halls of Olympia London on Hammersmith.

The venue overall felt even more cramped this year than before, several attendees saying to Publishing Perspectives that the felt truly uncomfortable in the teeming ground-floor aisles on March 11, the first day—when the largest portion of the three-day crowd traditionally descends on the venue. One visitor spoke of having to leave quickly, get some air outside, and try coming back in.

The current year’s allocation of space to London Book Fair by Olympia Management Services during the £1.3 billion project is expected to be the same in 2026, with the promising-looking Heatherwick Studio/SPPARC design seemingly not likely to deliver more space to the trade show before 2027, organizers say.

Adam Ridgway

In an upbeat comment provided to the news media for the conclusion of his first year’s direction of this complex show, Ridgway is quoted, saying, “With the third and final day of London Book Fair coming to a close, we’re delighted with the feedback we’ve received from exhibitors saying what a successful fair this has been for them.

“We’ve welcomed fascinating speakers and experts who have explored books from an international perspective, creative content across the industry, and—in today’s sessions—fostering the next generation of readers. Thank you to everyone who came along and made this year’s London Book Fair such an uplifting moment in the book industry calendar.”

Familiar Comments, Heard Again

There were other comments—not aimed per se at the show or at Ridgway, but certainly voiced frequently enough that they clearly were shared by many.

Most prevalent in those shared with us were observations on how thin the attendance appeared to be again this year on the third day, an annual phenomenon welcome for the space it opens up in the halls but leading others to talk about the exhaustion they tend to feel each year on Day Three.

Some questioned why a two-day trade show might not suffice.

In Publishing Perspectives’ moderation of a Main Stage sustainability session on Day Three—featuring International Publishers Association (IPA) president Gvantsa Jobava and the United Nations Publications chief Mary Glenn—attendance was heavy, reflecting strong interest in the show’s programming during the week.

Dogged by deteriorating weather conditions (today including some hail and snowflakes in London as colder temperatures set in), the show’s attendees persevered, if wearily.

The 2025 show will be remembered by many as a solid start for the even-tempered, friendly Ridgway and his team, if a moment of intensified impatience in the years-long slog toward a larger, better designed venue.

International Publishers Association president Gvantsa Jobava, left, and United Nations Publications chief Mary Glenn speak on London Book Fair’s Main Stage in a March 13 program on issues of sustainability. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson

More from Publishing Perspectives on London Book Fair is here, more on rights and licensing in the book industry is here, more on book fairs and trade shows in the world publishing industry is here, more on issues in sustainability and publishing is here, and more on the United Kingdom’s publishing market is here.

Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.

About the Author

Porter Anderson

Porter Anderson has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (Fellow, National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman.