The World Experience Organization is delighted to welcome Howard Dawber OBE to London Experience Week 2026, bringing one of the capital’s most senior voices on growth, placemaking and visitor economy to the stage.
Dawber will be speaking on Day One of the World Experience Summit at Ministry of Sound. His keynote will be at 3pm on Tuesday 21 April in the main theatre.
Dawber will be representing the UK capital as Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth. He is also there in his capacity as Chair of London & Partners, the ‘growth agency for London’ that is once again working with WXO on putting London venues and experiences on the global pedestal.
London Experience Week 2026 is the global gathering for the people building the Experience Economy, bringing together 750 senior leaders from 40 countries alongside a citywide Experience Safari.
Dawber’s appearance comes at a moment when London & Partners is putting the Experience Economy at the centre of its growth agenda. The organisation says its Experience Economy team is focused on supporting places, attracting events and experiences, and telling London’s story brilliantly, guided by the London 2030 Tourism Vision and Visitor Experience Strategy. London’s Growth Plan also identifies the experience economy and empowering local places as central pillars for the next decade.
Dawber brings deep experience of this agenda. He has chaired London & Partners since December 2023, while his earlier career included tourism and events programmes, international engagement and work on the Elizabeth line at Canary Wharf. He also served on boards including Tour East London, was involved in London’s 2012 Olympic candidate campaign, and helped found legacy bodies created in the run-up to the Games.
Dawber’s background matters because London’s experience offer is moving fast. In April 2025, London & Partners said up to £10bn could be invested into the capital’s experience economy over the next decade and highlighted projects including Immerse LDN, East Bank, Olympia’s £1.3bn transformation, ExCeL London’s expansion, and NEON at Battersea Power Station. The following month, London Convention Bureau directly linked experience-led growth to London’s recent business events momentum, with Dawber joining the city’s delegation to IMEX Frankfurt to underline the importance of business tourism.
He has also been visible in projects that bring experience-led growth down to street level. City Hall said Dawber and Justine Simons wrote to boroughs encouraging support for al fresco dining and later opening hours, and in August 2025 he visited Shoreditch businesses benefiting from the Mayor’s Summer Streets Fund, describing the scheme as a way to empower local businesses, stimulate enterprise and create exciting opportunities for Londoners and visitors.
Dawber has also opened an event at Fnatic HQ with London & Partners to champion esports and explore how London could strengthen its position as a global centre for the sector.
So when Dawber takes the London Experience Week stage, he will bring more than a policy title. He arrives with a track record spanning tourism, events, nightlife, placemaking, major-event strategy and the long-term promotion of London as a city to visit, experience and invest in.
For delegates looking to understand how a global city turns the experience economy into a serious growth strategy, his session should be one of the week’s most relevant conversations.