Join us at 1 pm GMT on Wednesday 21 January for Creating goosebump moments: innovation in immersive experiences at the Festival of Innovation 2026.
During this session, Damian Norman of Excel London and Immerse LDN, Christian Lachel from BRC Imagination Arts and Kate McConnell of THG Creative will share what makes a successful immersive experience, why you need to create the box and then think outside of it, and why goosebump moments are so important.
The Festival of Innovation will be held online from 21 to 22 January 2026, celebrating the creative ideas, products, and organisations advancing the sector.
All sessions will be available on demand for 30 days.
To register, please click here.
The blooloop Innovation Awards, held in partnership with Area15, recognise the remarkable energy, creativity, and imagination that propel the attractions industry forward.
The winners of the 2025 Immersive Experience category will be announced at this session. Attendees can view all the entries during the event.
Meet the experts
Damian Norman heads up Excel London’s Immersive Entertainment & Live Events division and is responsible for bringing some of the venue’s highest profile entertainment events, including Formula E, Disney 100: The Exhibition and The Formula 1 Exhibition.
With a degree in International Business & Marketing, he began in trade conferences and exhibitions, then joined DMG World Media in 2003, where he managed their skiing and snowboarding portfolio. In 2008, he completed an MBO and, with private investors, founded VOS Media, running it for five years and launching events like the London Bike Show and The Rouleur Classic.
In 2013, he sold the business to The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) and became MD of Telegraph Events, expanding its events from five to 60 in four years. In late 2017, he founded Live Mind Consultancy, working with clients such as the International Boat Show and Excel London.
Since joining Excel in 2019, he’s worked on various projects, including a new waterside development bringing global immersive experiences. In 2024, he launched Immerse LDN, London’s first Immersive Entertainment District, which has attracted over 1 million visitors.
As chief creative officer at BRC Imagination Arts, Christian Lachel has spent over two decades leading award-winning projects from strategy and design through production and opening day.
Some of his notable projects include the USA Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025, Johnnie Walker Princes St., Jameson Distillery Bow St., The Museum of Liverpool, Guinness Storehouse, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Ford Rouge Factory Tour, and The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Lachel attended the College of DuPage, Art Center College of Design, and Wharton Business School. He is a LEED Accredited professional with the U.S. Green Building Council and is sought after for his expertise in experiential marketing, storytelling, and design.
Kate McConnell, senior creative director at THG Creative, has over 20 years of storytelling experience in live spaces such as theatre, theme parks, museums, cultural attractions, and brand centres for clients including Warner Bros., Google, Lionsgate, Universal Studios, and more.
Before THG, she held various creative roles: leading immersive experience development at Microsoft’s customer engagement team, overseeing touring experiences for major IPs like Avatar, Marvel’s Avengers, and Transformers at Neon, and as senior creative director and head of content at Thinkwell Group, where she led teams from concept to opening.
Trained as a dramaturg specialising in Shakespeare, Kate prioritises the guest perspective in storytelling, blending compelling narrative techniques with playful uses of technology and environment to craft experiences that are genuine, enriching, and transformative.
Her education includes an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale School of Drama. Notable projects encompass work on the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, the US Marshals Museum, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, Google’s The Grove Experience Center, and selected attractions at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
To join us at this free session, please register here.
Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.
