A number of high-profile vegans from the worlds of movies, sports, fashion, politics and social justice will be present at the UK’s first vegan Trade and Media show VegfestUK Trade on Friday October 20^th 2017 at Olympia London. They will be joined by a select number of self-made entrepreneurs whose achievements in the vegan business circle will be celebrated in the Vegan Celebrity Zone part of the event.

A collection of elite vegan athletes will be out in force to bury the myth that only meat and whey can offer enough strength for competitive sportspeople. Strongman Patrik Baboumian, dubbed the world’s strongest man in 2013, will be displaying his awesome plant-based muscle and offering his insights on bodybuilding on a plant-based diet. He’ll be joined by triathlete Kate Strong, ultramarathoner Fiona Oakes and international cyclist Christine Vardarosin sharing their tips on being fit and strong whilst fuelled by exclusively plant-based food sources.

Actor Peter Egan and presenter Wendy Turner-Webster will add plenty of stardust to a joyous afternoon for Media and PR professionals whilst disclosing their unique personal experiences of staying vegan all these years.

Veganism is not far from politics either nowadays, with Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy, who was former shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the Labour Party, being a firm advocate for veganism in the political scene. Kerry will be in attendance at the Trade show with several other vegan MP’s including Derby North Labour MP and vegan Chris Williamson – they will share their experience of remaining vegan in Parliament and convincing their colleagues and the public of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

Veganism is increasingly seen as a social justice issue in addition to merely a diet or a personal lifestyle choice, with the intersections between animal rights and human rights issues drawing attention and allyship from other social justice movements. Christopher-Sebastian McJetters, a vegan and a rising star in the social justice scene, will be joined by visionary author Will Tuttle (author of The World Peace Diet), Vegan Publishers co-founder Casey Taft, international speaker James Aspey and Free From Harm director Robert Grillo, in dissecting some of the hottest topics in the intersectional world of veganism and human rights.

The tremendous growth in veganism is largely attributed to the sharp rise in vegan options across food, clothing and bodycare over the past decade, and credit must go to a group of heroic vegan entrepreneurs who follow their passion and set up highly successful vegan businesses offering the public with the vegan options that they need. Step forward allplants CEO Jonathan Petrides, Ms. Cupcake founder and director Mellissa Morgan and Pudology founder and director Lucy Wager – and they will be joined by ethical lifestyle magazine MyGreenPod co-founder and PEA Awards founder Jarvis Smith, and serial entrepreneur Kate Strong who has offered coaching services to budding vegan business builders in addition to her own outstanding sporting achievements.

Veganism is more than just a diet and it concerns what we wear as well as what food we put into our bodies. A number of vegan clothing and fashion brands will be participating in another panel on ethical vegan fashion – ETHCS co-founders Vegan Geezer and former English freerunner Tim Shieff will be joined by vegan fashion magazine Vilda Magazine editor Sascha Camilli, Viva La Vegan clothing brand founder Jay Charlton as well as Watts Kork founder Natalia Watts in what looks like a fascinating session into the world of fashion made without the use of animals.

The Vegan Celebrity Zone will be hosted by VeggieVision founder Karin Ridgers and social justice advocate Christopher-Sebastian McJetters, and is ideal for members of the media looking to report on the latest stories in the vegan world live at the event – media facilities at the event include a studio room for live interviews with celebrities during the event in addition to a press room stocked with press packs from up to 160 stalls. Other interesting features of the event include a Vegan Business Support lounge with business tips for independent business owners, a Vegan Bodycare Pavilion showcasing vegan bodycare brands to those from the bodycare and beauty trades, an Independent Retailers Lounge with information for retailers and distributors on how best to tap into the growing vegan market, a Vegan Health Clinic with cutting edge nutritional information for healthcare professionals, and a Plant-Based Chefs Corner helping caterers and hospitalities cater for vegans.

Free registration is now open to Trade and Media professionals at www.trade.vegfest.co.uk/registration

For the latest event updates, visit the show website www.trade.vegfest.co.uk or follow the Facebook event page here.

The show organisers extend massive thanks to the show sponsors Bute Island Foods, So Free Chocolate and Yaoh.