FKP Scorpio Entertainment (FKPE) is the exhibitions, family entertainment, comedy and spoken word division of international concert and festival promoter FKP Scorpio.
FKPE’s first major project was Jurassic World: The Exhibition, in partnership with the Luna Entertainment Group. The event opened at London’s ExCeL centre in 2023, selling over 314,000 tickets in just over four months.
FKPE has an ongoing exclusive tenancy deal with ExCeL (aka Immerse LDN) through 2027, during which it plans to continue presenting large-scale IP-based exhibitions and events. Additionally, it has two recent tenancy deals with Broadwick venues, Corner Corner and Dock X at Canada Water, London.
The company also works with venue partners and production teams across Europe and is expanding its reach through strategic collaborations. This includes the recent acquisition and integration of Nordic Exhibitions—now renamed FKP Scorpio Entertainment Nordic —based in Norrköping, Sweden. FKPE continues to develop its presence across the European market through focused campaign and event management strategies.
We speak with FKPE and its partners about the company’s extraordinary growth and its future expansion plans, as well as how its unique approach to partnerships helps set productions up for success from the start.
A fast-growing promoter
FKP’s initial UK presence was established in 2018 (originally as FKP UK) but was then rebranded as FKPE in 2022, focusing on exhibitions and special projects. The company has seen remarkable success in London over the last two years, with almost 1.5 million tickets sold.
Productions that it has brought to the UK capital over this period include Jurassic World: The Exhibition, Disney100: The Exhibition, Formula 1: The Exhibition, Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue, Tutankhamun London: The Immersive Exhibition, Tutankhamun Glasgow: The Immersive Exhibition (opening July 24th 2025) and most recently the announcement of the award winning The Legend Of The Titanic: Immersive Exhibition, due to open at Dock X on 25 July 2025.
“We are growing very fast as a leading promoter in the exhibition space,” says CEO Folkert Koopmans.
“Not only promoting UK & European shows, but launching our own venue OBEX in Oberhausen, investing in new IP such as Minecraft and providing a dedicated and unparalleled service for our clients. In 2025, we will promote eight exhibitions across our European markets, including London, Amsterdam, Oberhausen, Malmö, Stockholm, Norrköping, Brussels, and new markets soon to be announced.
“In just a few years, the exhibition business has become an important part of our business and a genuine addition to our concert and festival portfolio, whose potential in the European market is far from exhausted.”
Recent successes for FKPE
Formula 1: The Exhibition, produced by Round Room Live and Pathfinder Live, ran at Immerse LDN from August 2024 to March 2025 and welcomed 340,000 visitors (plus a further 70,000 upsell simulator sales). Speaking about its appeal, James Cassidy, president of FKPE, says:
“The F1 exhibition presented the very best of curated F1 history and content from the Formula 1 archives. I think the success of the Netflix Drive To Survive series profiled the sport in a new dimension and to a whole new demographic, younger and older audiences (me included!), an audience that had hitherto probably thought the sport was a bit boring!
“Presenting the F1 exhibition in London, therefore, appealed to a much wider audience than it might have done before Drive To Survive, so the timing and content were spot on. Having a high-quality exhibition from a global super brand IP, coming off the back of a relevant TV series, coupled with general mainstream fascination with the sport, clearly resonated strongly with audiences.”
The Minecraft experience, licensed from Microsoft and produced by Experience MOD and Supply + Demand and the Tutankhamun experience, created by Madrid Artes Digitales, have also attracted huge numbers right from the start for their London runs.
The appeal of immersive exhibitions
The public appetite for immersive exhibitions and experiences has, Cassidy says, surpassed FKPE’s expectations:
“Post-COVID, the consumer seems to have embraced more all-encompassing experiences that deliver great family entertainment, technological wonder and value for money.
“Back in 2018, teamLab in Japan and Ateliers De Lumieres in France were some of the first companies at the forefront of digital visual presentations, creating content with extra dimension and exceptional imagery. Post-pandemic, the sector has exploded with content, producers, shows, and experiences, with the demand from the audience seeming insatiable.”
With this demand has come increased audience expectations and a growing number of IP players entering the space. Audiences now want and expect the full spectrum of emotional experiences, from storytelling to artefacts and quality replicas, to engaging 360-degree video mapping rooms, to headset VR fly-through experiences, to metaverse AR walk-through experiences, information displays, and fun facts.
“And, after that, somewhere to sit down and have a nice cup of coffee,” adds Cassidy. “It’s the perfect entertainment maelstrom of museum meets ‘edutainment’ meets technology meets an excellent value for money family day out.”
Regarding some key learnings from managing such a diverse portfolio, from dinosaurs to Disney to the world of Ancient Egypt, he explains that FKPE’s approach is to treat every IP with the same care and attention:
“These are huge investments, so it is essential to live and breathe every decision. Whilst the portfolio may be diverse, we believe there is a consistent quality of IP and exhibition presentation which is both unique and premium. If we wouldn’t pay our own hard-earned cash to go visit it, then why should we expect others to do so?”
A true partnership
Working closely with special projects director Barry Campbell, Cassidy and the entire FKPE team are involved in the development of the experience at an early stage, making recommendations about aspects they believe will resonate with local audiences, as the team is invested in the production’s success.
“As promoters, Barry and I want the production to shine in the best way it can in the market,” says Cassidy.
“If we love the concept but think certain elements could connect better with a local audience, we make suggestions on improving those.” In London, for example, experiences are competing in a mature and saturated market with countless options for the consumer, so offering that little bit extra or something special to the customer is an important differentiator:
“We felt strongly that a Formula One London exhibition should feature more iconic cars. We also advocated for increased interactivity, such as simulators and speed tests, as none were included in the first iterations of the exhibition.
“Round Room had similar thoughts, so it was a truly great collaboration to develop and see this become a reality in London, something that now continues into Amsterdam, where we have just opened the latest F1: The Exhibition.
“We’re constantly evolving. After launch, we adjust layouts, signage, and information panels based on feedback. Every morning, I review the previous day’s comments through the Fever reviews management system. If people aren’t enjoying something, we have that all-important feedback system that allows us to proactively make changes.
“It’s about understanding weaknesses and continuously improving the experience.”
Working with FKPE
Working with FKPE is genuinely collaborative, agrees Jelle de Jong, CEO of Madrid Artes Digitales:
“What drew me to work with the FKPE team is their unstoppable energy and ambition,” he says. “They always want to push the boundaries of what’s possible. I love the way they think big. It’s inspiring, and they’re genuinely nice people with a sense of humour. That energy is reflected in their staff, and I see it reflected in the reviews.
“When FKPE wanted to bring our Tutankhamun show to ExCeL in London, they didn’t just want a replica; they wanted an extra-large version. We developed a hologram of the mummification process specifically for London. It was a massive investment and a huge challenge to create in just two months, but it was worth it.
“Now, that hologram is part of the IP and will travel with the show worldwide. Building on the success in London with FKPE, we’re expanding to Glasgow next, with more shows planned. We initially aimed for three shows this year, and now we’re doing seven.”
One of the main challenges of touring experiences across different locations is adapting to scale.
“For example, in London, we scaled up everything: we created two treasure rooms instead of one and added real artefacts alongside the replicas because the British audience values seeing authentic objects,” continues de Jong. “These were specific requests, and we worked flexibly with James and his team to make it happen.
“Initially, I thought all these changes would be too ambitious for the short window we had to prepare, but in the end, it all came together. The entire show was built up in just over 11 days, and now we’re almost sold out every day in London.
“It’s definitely something to be proud of.”
The Titanic comes to London
This summer, FKPE will team up with Madrid Artes Digitales once more to bring the producer’s popular show, The Legend of The Titanic: Immersive Exhibition, to Dock X in London.
“We are super excited about this exhibition,” says Cassidy. “Yes, there have been and are many Titanic exhibitions in various markets but what sets this one apart is (same as our Tutankhamun Immersive), is the sheer scale of it at 3,000 square metres, as well as the artefacts and replicas, the quality of the immersive mapping room, the tech VR and AR presentations.”
There is also a fun family AI area for kids’ activities and an F&B recreation of the famous Café Parisien, a Parisian-style café on the Titanic B deck, just off the Aft Grand Staircase. “Madrid Artes Digitales has curated the highest quality experience for all the family, with no additional upsells and everything included at a very affordable price,” adds Cassidy.
“We are not only appealing to fans of the Titanic story and interested historians, but to families looking for a fun day out, to thrill seekers looking for the best tech experiences.”
Pushing the boundaries with FKPE
In the Titanic AR room, guests can walk through various first-, second, and third-class cabins, as well as the engine room, and be on deck as the ship navigates its way through the Atlantic.
“You get to look over the deck and experience your own Kate Winslet moment. It is a deeply emotional and authentic 90-minute experience, unlike anything else. The detail in the storytelling is also fantastic, you get to literally sit in the Harland & Wolff shipbuilding dock whilst the ship is being constructed around you, the story arc takes you from shipbuilding right through to the final tragic end.”
De Jong adds: “Titanic was a massive hit in Madrid, selling over 320,000 tickets, and we just opened in Munich with our partners in Germany. London is next, with the exhibit launching at Dock X on July 25th. We’re following the same model, but with even more enhancements.
“Since we have a large venue in London, we’re adding more interactive areas for kids, like games on touchscreens featuring icebergs, questionnaires, quizzes, and additional AR experiences.”
In Madrid, the focus was primarily digital, but for London, the team has again responded to the local audience’s desire for real artefacts. “We dove into the archives of Titanic specialists and curated a stunning White Star Line collection, which will take up nearly 200 to 300 square meters of the exhibition. That’s something we didn’t have before.
The Café Parisien-style F&B area also features AI software that allows families to take photos in a 1912 setting, and even incorporates sensory elements like smell for a 5D experience.
“James and his team pushed me to go beyond what we did in Madrid, not just copy-paste the experience, but tailor it like a suit specifically for the London audience.”
FKPE and Fever
FKPE also works closely with the leading entertainment discovery platform, Fever. Explaining more about the partnership, Fever’s general manager for the UK and Nordics, Sana Ali Aamir, says:
“Fever instantly recognised FKPE’s local market expertise and long-term strategic vision. FKPE understood, earlier than most, the value of Fever’s technology and data-driven insights. With their first project, they took a big bet on a new IP, in a new venue with a new ticketing and demand generation partner. The result was record-breaking ticket sales and an award-winning experience.
“It was a masterclass in strong leadership and measured risk-taking by James Cassidy and Barry Campbell.
“FKPE is on a meteoric rise that few others have been able to achieve in such a short time. From our first project together in 2022, FKPE has grown into one of the biggest exhibition promoters in Europe. Together, we are now working on some of the best IPs in the biggest European markets.
“A key driver for FKPE’s success is their ability to motivate teams to deliver their absolute best. This is driven both by their deep understanding of the market and consumers, but also their ability to learn, adapt and continue to push boundaries in an ever-evolving live entertainment landscape.”
When asked what upcoming collaborations with FKPE she is most excited about in the next year, Aamir adds:
“All of them – whatever they touch, seems to turn into gold!”
European expansion
Building on the London success, FKPE will bring Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition to the Glasgow SEC in July for a limited 14-week run. It also launched the F1 exhibition in Amsterdam this April. Additionally, the company will soon announce another major blockbuster exhibition opening in London in October of this year.
“I can’t say what it is yet, but it will dominate the London market in Q4 2025,” says Cassidy.
Talking about the company’s strategy for adapting a London success to a new market, he adds:
“It is always challenging. No two markets are the same, and just because we had great success in London doesn’t necessarily mean it will be successful in other markets. That said, we have great teams in all our European markets, and with our approach to exhibitions, we have invested time and effort in building unique local elements that will appeal to the market.”
“So, for example, for the F1: The Exhibition in Amsterdam, Ewoud Van De Kamp (our Dutch project manager) and the Round Room production team, created a local ‘Dutch Room’ which profiles the successful Dutch F1 drivers, historical local stories, Zandvoort racing circuit and which creates something that should resonate with the Dutch F1 fans.
“Each market iteration of the exhibition seeks to add something new, to keep it relevant and fresh for the local market.”
From a partner perspective, Aamir adds: “As a promoter, FKPE understands local nuances and can adapt their exhibitions to cater to those. Not only do they have local teams across Europe with deep local insights and execution capabilities, but they also have a strong central Irish duo that can consolidate knowledge and identify and coordinate touring IPs effectively. This is a winning recipe.”
OBEX
The company is poised for further success in mainland Europe as well. OBEX is the first FKPE-owned venue, having been in the works for two years. Situated in Oberhausen, Germany, in the Northwest Ruhr valley catchment area, which serves a population of around 15 million, it is a vast 4,500-square-metre warehouse with a 12-metre ceiling clearance.
“We have purpose-developed, adapted and created what we hope will be one of the leading new immersive exhibition venues not only in Germany but in Europe,” says Cassidy.
Speaking about the decision to open an FKPE-owned and operated venue, he adds:
“As a promoter, the biggest challenge in the exhibition sector is finding venues. Most major exhibitions require a duration of 16 to 24 weeks to be financially viable, but securing long-term tenancies in key markets is extremely challenging. These exhibitions require huge spaces, and venues like that are rare in cities like London and Paris; they’re often only available for short periods, which doesn’t work for the business model.”
“Venue availability is the key driver for any exhibition promoter, and that’s why we decided to create our own. It’s a massive investment, and you’re not just taking a risk on the content; you’re taking a risk on the building itself. But it’s the only way to ensure the space and time needed to make these big exhibitions successful.”
The venue’s opening exhibition will be Madrid Artes Digitales’ Pompeii Immersive, which tells the dramatic story of the sudden and violent eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.
“Similar to our London Tutankhamun exhibition, it is a huge-scale experience with an 8-metre-high x 360-degree video mapping room, AR, VR and curated historical artefacts and storytelling. It follows a similar format to London, and the initial sales and reviews have been exceptional.”
A bright future
FKP Scorpio Entertainment has an initial five-year plan, now in its third year, to roll out its exhibition and special events business not only in the UK but also in all ten of its European affiliate markets.
“We recently acquired Scandinavian exhibitor, Nordic Exhibitions AB and under the leadership of Stefan Papangelis, we are opening exhibitions in Malmö, Stockholm, and soon to launch in Oslo, Finland and Copenhagen.”
In addition to the F1 Exhibition in Amsterdam and the Pompeii Immersive exhibition in Oberhausen, FKPE plans to open exhibitions in Belgium, Vienna, and Switzerland.
“It’s a rapid growth, and our goal is to sell over 5 million exhibition tickets in the next two years. I believe that with the teams we have and the vision of our board, we can absolutely achieve this.
“FKPE is an independent company with a unique DNA. We are not forging a pathway to simply gain market share, and we don’t suffer fools! We have a way of doing business that our entire team believes in, one that provides our clients and stakeholders with excellent service, instils confidence in our partnership, demonstrates our commitment to care and attention, and fosters confidence in the results we deliver.”
“Every project matters to us; we want every subsequent exhibition to be better than the previous ones, and we keep nudging the bar higher.”
