Exhibition Stand Builder for Toy Fair
Toy Fair runs 19–21 January 2027 across the Grand, National and Upper West Halls at Olympia London, the UK's largest trade-only show for toys, games and hobbies, organised by the British Toy & Hobby Association. We build exhibition stands at Olympia, in custom wooden construction or on our DUM FLEX™ frame, most recently a 450 m² Turkiye national pavilion for London Tech Week in the same halls.
Get a quote →Toy Fair has two display rules most builders miss
The organiser's Stand Build Rules are stricter than most UK trade shows on sightlines, because buyers walk the aisles below and the galleries above at the same time.
The 3m visibility rule
Any wall over 1.5 m high needs at least one clear vision panel of 1 m² or more, in the 1.0–1.8 m band, every 3 metres along its length. It is a rule built for a toy show specifically, to keep sightlines into the next stand open; we draw it into the design from the first sketch rather than fixing it at approval stage.
Building under the Grand Hall gallery
A stand visible from the Grand Hall's surrounding Victorian gallery needs a tidy, finished roofline — the view from above is part of the show. Boundary walls above 2.5 m facing a neighbouring stand stay white or unbranded, by the same rule.
Materials and finish
Olympia requires water-based adhesives and paint throughout, flame-retardant drape with certification on hand, and no fixings into the venue's own floor or structure — approved tape only. We build to that specification as standard across every Olympia show, not just at final sign-off.
The approval calendar runs through December, not after it
Abraxys, the organiser's appointed stand vetting contractor, signs off every design before it can be built — and the sign-off calendar sits right on top of the UK's busiest production month.
Why the December deadline matters
A draft submission is due roughly eleven weeks before the show, in November, with final sign-off around seven weeks out, in December. That is exactly when most UK exhibition workshops are also running Christmas-season production for other clients, so we book the Toy Fair build slot against that calendar early rather than treating it as a normal lead time.
We draw to the Stand Build Rules PDF and A-Z guide from the first concept, then submit through Abraxys, the organiser's appointed stand vetting contractor, as the process requires. A design that is already compliant at draft stage avoids a second review cycle inside that tight window.
From Gold Zone to a full space-only build
Toy Fair publishes its own stand pricing, which is unusual — Gold Zone economy space in the Grand Hall at £1,484 + VAT per 5 m² for a first stand, shell scheme at £304.50 + VAT/m² once you need your own fascia and layout, or space-only self-build at £240 + VAT/m² for a fully custom footprint.
Small footprint, full craftsmanship
A Gold Zone or small space-only plot still needs the stand to carry a brand on its own, with product on display rather than packed into shelving. Our 27 m² DUM FLEX™ stand for Bujairami Sydney is the kind of compact, product-forward build that approach suits, built to the same frame system we would bring to a first Toy Fair plot.
A single floor, to the venue's limit
Space-only stands at Toy Fair are currently limited to a single floor, to a maximum of 4 m without separate organiser approval and independent structural sign-off; a second floor is not permitted at present. Olympia's own listed-building and rigging rules sit on top of that — our Olympia London venue page covers them in full.
A trade-only floor, built for the buyer who already knows the product
Toy Fair is not open to the public and carries a strict age policy for children aged 5 to 16, so the stand is reaching retailers, licensors and distributors rather than a family crowd.
That changes what earns attention on the floor: a clear demo area and a layout that lets a professional buyer handle the product, rather than a stand built to stop passing families. We design to that audience from the brief, whichever stand level you are building from.
Talk to us about Toy Fair →Exhibiting at Toy Fair: the questions we get asked
When and where is Toy Fair 2027?
19–21 January 2027, across the Grand, National and Upper West Halls at Olympia London. Dates and halls are published by the organiser on toyfair.co.uk.
Is Toy Fair open to the public?
No. Toy Fair is strictly trade-only, run by the British Toy & Hobby Association, and closed to the general public and to children aged 5 to 16.
What is the 3m visibility rule at Toy Fair?
Any stand wall over 1.5 m high needs at least one clear vision panel of 1 m² or more, positioned in the 1.0–1.8 m height band, every 3 metres along the wall. It keeps sightlines open between neighbouring stands and is set out in the organiser's Stand Build Rules.
Can I build a double-deck stand at Toy Fair?
Not currently. Space-only stands are limited to a single floor, to a maximum of 4 m without separate organiser and structural engineer approval; a second floor is not permitted at present.
When do stand designs need Abraxys approval?
A draft submission is due roughly eleven weeks before the show, around November, with final sign-off about seven weeks out, in December — ahead of most workshops' Christmas production peak.
Have you built exhibition stands at Olympia London before?
Yes. Our most recent Olympia project is a 450 m² DUM FLEX™ national pavilion for the Turkiye Government at London Tech Week, hosting 55 startups. We have not yet built at Toy Fair itself, and design to its Stand Build Rules and Abraxys approval process as standard.