Excel London has welcomed the first of 10 major international congresses – a venue record for a single year – as its newly-opened 25,000sqm expansion continues to help drive global events to the UK capital.
Held last month, the 41st European Association of Urology Congress returned to London for the first time since 2017, becoming the first major medical event to be hosted in the expanded Excel.
The four-day EAU Congress is the largest and most prominent urology event in Europe, bringing together thousands of healthcare professionals, researchers, and industry experts to share the latest scientific developments.
As well as staging the event and hosting 12,366 delegates from 132 countries, Excel also collaborated closely on EAU’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives including its charity run in aid of Prostate Cancer Awareness, and its ‘Urge to Act’ campaign. The latter aims to highlight the needs of those dealing with incontinence, with Excel helping to raise awareness across its venue by installing special sanitary bins in cubicle toilets.
In addition to EAU, some of the nine remaining association congresses being hosted this year include the FTTH Conference (14-16 April), the INTA 2026 Annual Meeting (2-6 May), EULAR 2026 (3-6 June), ESHRE 2026 Annual Meeting (5-8 July) and ESCRS 2026 (11-15 September).
In total, the 10 events are expected to attract some 80,000 delegates to the UK capital and generate £250 million for London’s business economy.
James Rees, Excel’s Executive Director, said: “It has been an honour to welcome the EAU Congress back to London and to do this in our new expansion, which has been designed with delegate experience at its heart. London continues to be a magnet for landmark European conferences, with organisers drawn by the city’s culture, transport connectivity, universal appeal and sector-specific professionals. This, combined with our unrivalled venue facilities and guest experience, has resulted in record bookings for Excel, not just for 2026 but for 2027 and beyond.”
He added: “In addition to Excel’s investment programme, London collectively is investing £10 billion into its experience economy over the next 10 years, giving delegates even more reasons to host their events in the capital.”
Marije Koops, EAU Congress Manager, added: “London has again proven to be attractive for many healthcare professionals from around the world, connecting our community to share practical, patient-centred care, as well as discover the latest technologies. Excel and its new facilities provided a compact and easy to reach setting for this. The complimentary support by the Excel team offered to our awareness initiatives was very much appreciated and a great contribution to the good cause.”
This hosting of the first international congress comes at a pivotal moment for Excel on its mission to become the best event destination in the world. The venue has delivered a £350 million investment programme over the last five years, including its landmark expansion which opened in the summer of 2025.
A further investment programme is now underway to enhance digital infrastructure, wayfinding, food and beverage and the overall visitor experience – strengthening Excel’s partnership with event organisers and providing the scale, flexibility and support needed to deliver exceptional events at every stage of growth.
