An agreement has been reached between the two most important Italian food & wine events in London: Welcome Italia is now part of Bellavita Expo, which will take place on 1-2 February 2021 at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

The first Italian fair in London took place in 1888 under the patronage of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK, founded just one year before.

From that moment, the Chamber began consolidating its activities, becoming a landmark for the Italian community and all the Italian companies interested in doing business in the UK.

Since 2013, one of the Chamber’s main activities has been Welcome Italia, a B2B and B2C event based on a format able to attract both trade professionals and Italian food & wine lovers.

Bellavita Expo was instead established in London in 2014, becoming in a short time a leading event promoting Italian excellence in food&beverage; abroad through professional trade fairs held in London, Amsterdam, Toronto, Hamburg, Varsavia, Chicago, Mexico City and Bangkok. In 2018, Vinitaly (Verona Fiere) and Cibus (Fiere Parma) created a joint venture with the organisers.

In 2019, more than 1,000 Italian companies took part in Bellavita’s events worldwide. In the same year, the London edition introduced Spanish and other Mediterranean producers as well, with outstanding results thus creating an incomparable reference for the gastronomic excellence of Southern Europe.

The President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce for the UK Alessandro Belluzzo welcomed the news with enthusiasm, saying that “synergy is essential in this particular moment, we unified the two most important Italian events of the food&beverage; industry in London. This represents a strong action that will allow us to optimise the possibilities for Italian companies interested in exporting their products to the UK”.

Starting from 2020, Welcome Italia will represent the section of Bellavita Expo dedicated to Italian institutional representatives and regional collectives. The Chamber will involve Italian institutions whilst Bellavita Expo will focus on Italian private companies and other Mediterranean areas.

Aldo Mazzocco, CEO of Bellavita, stated that “London is the worldwide capital of international food. Bellavita Expo's mission is to bring Italian excellence around the world. The Italian Chamber of Commerce for the UK is always in the first line in promoting the real “Made in Italy” and we are excited to welcome this brand-new partnership. Together we will offer to the Italian companies an exceptional opportunity of business and visibility on the UK market.”

The event will be B2B only and will take place on 1-2 February 2021 including a full programme of conferences, round table discussions, tastings and cooking shows with the country’s most important opinion leaders and chefs.