Unofficial Brick Fest Live LEGO event draws mixed reactions
The Brick Fest Live LEGO event held in Birmingham late last month has drawn mixed reactions and comparisons to a certain Glasgow event.
Brick Fest Live was recently held at the NEC in Birmingham between May 25 and 27 with tickets anywhere between £18 and £35 on the NEC website, though daily rates may have varied. Some of the visitors who attended Brick Fest Live have come away sufficiently unimpressed with its offerings and activities.
It should be noted and understood that Brick Fest Live is an unofficial event – one of many held worldwide – with absolutely no connection to the LEGO Group. The LEGO Group did not have any part in any of the Brick Fest Live events.
YouTuber Block Party offers a closer look at everything on offer at the event and was sufficiently disappointed with the offerings for both older and younger LEGO fans. As they put it, “How they can call it the largest one in the UK – I think they’ve based that on the fact that it’s in the biggest room, even though it’s basically empty.”
According to The Guardian, comparisons to the Willy Wonka event that was held in Glasgow to much controversy have been made. Most of the website for the event and all social channels aside from Instagram have been set to private. Whether this was planned to take place before the comments surfaced is unknown, though it’s common for unofficial LEGO events to keep these channels active following the end of the event.
Compared to the event’s run in Milton Keynes – as covered by Iain’s Bricks – the Birmingham offerings seem sparse and Iain’s reactions to the Milton Keynes are much different, noting that while it was pricey, there was still a decent amount of activities on offer.
Their video strongly suggests that the same number and variety of offerings were available but in a smaller event space, which may explain their reaction. The Milton Keynes Marshall Arena event space is 3,420 square metres and the numbering on the wall in the video suggests that it was held in the NEC’s eighth hall, which is 4,950 square metres in comparison.
Brick Fest Live said in a statement to The Guardian: “In the last month, there have been tens of thousands of guests that have been through this event in Edinburgh and Milton Keynes, with children and families taking part in this interactive, hands-on festival.
“Where many have given us positive feedback, we are aware that Brick Fest Live is potentially not delivering for adult-level enthusiasts. We’re reading all customer feedback and dealing with comments.”
Brick Fest Live’s last stop on this tour was at the NEC and whether it will return in the future is unknown. Following the initial comments regarding the Birmingham show, the news was covered by national news outlets as well as some international news sources.
Featured image: The NEC
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Author Profile
- LEGO has been a part of my life ever since I was young. It all started when my brother passed down 7657 AT-ST to me. It’s guided me through my early years, through school and eventually through my degree in journalism. I still have all my collection proudly on display, including my many NINJAGO sets, my favourite of all the LEGO Group’s themes. Outside of Brick Fanatics I am an avid gamer and enjoy a good game of Dungeons & Dragons.
we went to logo brick fest n it wasn’t worth the money that I paid at all and wouldn’t recommend not to spend to go to it I paid the high price n took my grandchildren n it was a complete waste as we left there was no show or cameras as never leads you to believe this false advertising in Colorado v
it was a pile of rubbish, I have requested a refund thou I doubt I will get one. 3-4 years ago I attended one and it was amazing so many people selling Lego, loads of built displays. The one I attended a few weeks ago in Birmingham could have fitted in my living room, I was in and out after 10 mins.
Thanks for using the link to my video.
Although I wasn’t particularly impressed with Brick Fest Live! at MiltonKeynes, I did feel that some of the activities that were available were quite good and I actually spent quite a bit of time at the Architecture table, for example, creating my own model.
I paid £16 for my 10am ticket – I did see the VIP 9am tickets available at the time of ordering, but decided there and then that they did not appear to be worth that value, so decided against it. Obviously I only needed one ticket for myself so I do appreciate, even at these prices, how expensive it would be to get a family of 4 into the event.
I actually arrived at the venue early at 9:30 and I needed to use the loo, so they just let me in early anyway.
It was very quiet in the hall for the first half an hour which did mean there was very little atmosphere at the event to start with. It did give me chance though to look around the whole event before partaking in some of the activities available. It did gradually get busier as the morning went on which did give the event more atmosphere.
Maybe the Milton Keynes event was better presented in a slightly smaller hall than the NEC. It also helped that parking only cost £3.60 as opposed to £10 in Edinburgh or £20 in Birmingham.
For me, the biggest disappointment at the event was the shop. Very little choice and what was available was very underwhelming.
I spent about 2 hours at the event – I didn’t do every single activity, but I did about half of them and enjoyed what was on offer.
Having said that though, I probably wouldn’t rush back to a Brick Fest Live! anytime soon as I definitely think there are better events out there, such as Bricktastic, Brick Festivals or National Brick Events to name a few.
Comparing the event to the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow recently is probably a bit harsh, but I understand as well why many people thought the event was a rip off.
Iain
Thanks for the insight and great video!