FAQ'S

If you are attending the festival alone or starting to feel overwhelmed, we are operating a 'buddy system'. Volunteers will be on hand to make sure that you are enjoying your festival experience. 

There is a staffed cloakroom on the lower level of Excel near the N4 and S4 entrances. This cloakroom is provided at no charge to visitors however, please note that items are left at your own risk. There is very limited space for luggage, so it is strongly recommended that luggage is left at hotels prior to your arrival at the venue and collected after your departure.

We will have green lanyards available on-site, so the festival team can recognise that you may have additional requirements.

• Prior to your arrival at the CIPD Festival of Work, there are two adjacent stations to the venue – Custom House and Prince Regent, both of these are step-free
• All public entrances to Excel London are accessible by wheelchair
• Wheelchairs are free of charge to hire – they are subject to availability, please email info@excel.london to enquire
• Mobility scooters are free of charge to hire – they are subject to availability, please email info@excel.london to enquire
• An accessible changing facility can be found as the east of the venue on level 1 – click here for more information
• There are 80 bays suitable for disabled drivers on-site across Orange car park – click here for more information
• There are 40 toilets for disabled visitors located throughout the building – You’ll find them near the Business Services centre, located on level 0 between hall entrance N4 and S4, the ICC conference suites on Level 3 and the restaurants and cafes on Level 1 and Level 2 – click here for more information
• Guide dogs are welcome at Excel London, please contact accessibility@excel.london to plan your visit

There will be a hearing loop zone available at each stage.

There will be a dedicated nursing room on-site.

The venue and event opening times are as follows: 

• Weds - 08:15 - 17:30 
• Thurs - 08:30 - 16:30

There is a quiet room onsite for anyone who needs it, please feel free to come here to regulate and de-escalate. Please be mindful of others while using this space, if you require a meeting space please use the networking areas located in the Social Cafe and Meet and Eat, or the boulevard.

All stages will have subtitles available.

How to get there
Check out our travel page here. To reduce your carbon footprint we would strongly recommend travelling by public transport where possible.

Parking

We strongly recommend pre-booking your parking space.

To pre-book your parking space please visit the online booking platform here. Please select the date(s) you would like to park which should then display the event you are planning to attend. Select the type of space you need and complete the form to secure your spot. Pre-booking is the only way to guarantee your parking at the venue. It is recommended you book to avoid disappointment should the car park be full on arrival.

There are clearly marked disabled parking bays in the Venue's orange car park. These are wide bays with minimum dimensions of 5.9m by 3.6m. Access to the building from these bays is along walkways with a gradient of no more than 1:15 and via flat entrance lifts with automatic doors. Blue badge holders can park in designated disabled parking bays. Parking costs £25 for up to 24 hours. There is a fine of £80 for parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid disabled badge.

Excel offer a 15-minute free of charge window for drop offs. The closest entrance for drop off is S4/N4 hall modules – located near car park zone 3.

Please note: the Orange car park only permit vehicles up to a maximum of 1.9 metres height. Please email info@excel.london if you require a disabled space for a taller vehicle.

We ask all our attendees if they have any additional requirements as part of the registration process and make every effort to accommodate them. We're committed to making this event accessible to everyone.

• Excel London is designed for maximum accessibility for all events, this includes full accessibility to wheelchair users. 

• There is a quiet room for anyone who needs it, please feel free to come here to regulate and de-escalate.

• There is a multi-faith prayer room located at Excel for anyone who needs it. It can be accessed through the grey door next to the S9 entrance on the boulevard.

• There is no formal dress code, please dress as you feel comfortable.

• Anyone with an accessibility requirement will be offered a different coloured lanyard so that stewards may easily identify and offer support.

• Event staff will be wearing green t-shirts on the content stages to be more easily identified and approached for help.

• Hearing loops are located at the front of content stages for anyone who is hard of hearing.

• All content stages and rooms will have closed captions.

• The Content+ option means that anyone who does not want to attend in person, for whatever reason, can still view the content across all 7 stages.

• In order to support visitors wishing to bring personal support animals to the venue and to ensure smooth entry for those animals permitted, please email cipdevents.tickets@haymarket.com, copying in accessibility@excel.london, prior to arriving onsite.

• If you are attending the festival alone or starting to feel overwhelmed, we are operating a 'buddy system'. Volunteers will be on hand to make sure that you are enjoying your festival experience. 

Should you have any queries or concerns please visit the help desk during the event, or email cipdevents.tickets@haymarket.com if your query is before the event.

Click here to find more information on how Excel is accessible as a venue. 

Click here to see what we are doing to make the festival accessible

Exhibitors are being targeted by organisations claiming to be, or work with the CIPD. They offer misleading directory services, accommodation recommendations and show guide services – sometimes they use existing CIPD branding which may appear genuine.

Please be aware and remain vigilant when contacted by these organisations. We recommend not responding to these communications and to circulate examples of scam emails to make the appropriate teams aware of the risk. 

The CIPD Festival of Work is not in any way associated with these organisations and does not engage in the sale or trade of any customer lists or charge for show guides/profiles. If you are ever in doubt about a piece of communication received in relation to the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Account Manager.

More information available on this website page

Please contact us on this enquiry form and a member of the team will be in touch.