Just a few moments ago, London’s first, and Europe’s largest LEGO brand store has finally opened its doors to the LEGO faithful. Though this piece of news is thousands of miles away from where we are, the excitement of the occasion is pretty contagious. For those of us who can’t make it physically at the LEGO London Store, we are thankful that groups such as the LEGO Collectors Club (LCC), The Brothers Brick (TBB) and Promo Bricks are there to witness firsthand the events as they happen, giving us an inside look at what the largest LEGO store in this side of the world has to offer. In case you missed it, LEGO also had a live broadcast of the events both inside and outside of the store via their Facebook live feed.
Visitors were also glad to know that one of the latest LEGO Architecture Skylines sets slated for 2017 has been released in the LEGO London store ahead of January next year. Well, I guess it’s kind of obvious what set this is.
Photo courtesy of Promo Bricks.
Other than the exclusive launch of the LEGO Architecture London 21034 at the LEGO London Store, the much talked about Lester minifigure has also been given away in a form of a raffle. Though not without complaints and issues with regards to the way it is made available (through a mystery scratch card that buyers will receive upon reaching a certain amount of purchase), there’s only a total of 275 minifigures of Lester that were officially given away so expect that this highly valued collectible minifig will be a prized possession for any LEGO fan.
Photo courtesy of Promo Bricks.
Here’s LEGO’s official press release of the store’s opening together with some images courtesy of Sophie from LCC, The Brothers Brick, and Brick. Thank you for sharing these images for all LEGO fans to enjoy.
LEGO® London Flagship Store Opens Offering Unique Experiences for Fans of All Ages
The world’s largest LEGO Store opens with a focus on inspiring creativity through new experiences and fun, interactive workshops.
17 November 2016: Today The LEGO Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials, has officially opened its new UK flagship store in central London’s popular tourist hot-spot, Leicester Square.
The Leicester Square store is the 131st LEGO store globally and is pushing the boundaries with many unique LEGO® firsts. The largest LEGO store in the world boasts exciting new experiences, such as a ‘Mosaic Maker’ which offers LEGO fans of all ages the opportunity to purchase their very own, one of a kind, personalised LEGO mosaic portrait. The machine captures your image and in under ten minutes printed instructions and the bricks required to complete the LEGO portrait are supplied to the customer. The London store is the first in the world to make this unique experience available.
Photo courtesy of LCC.
John Goodwin, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the LEGO Group said: “We are excited to have finally opened the doors to the world’s largest LEGO store here in London. We want to inspire and develop children through creative play experiences – and this store is all about that. Here, parents and children can explore the many different LEGO products while at the same time getting a truly immersive experience of the LEGO brand.”
Inspiring creativity and developing the builders of tomorrow is a central theme for the store and this is encouraged with unique hands-on interactive brick experiences. These include ‘Master Builder Playtables’, where children will be free to build whatever they can imagine – inspired by iconic London landmarks and a range of exciting LEGO themes. There will also be a timetable when Certified LEGO Master Builders will visit the store sharing tips and tricks to help visitors build LEGO models and help inspire children to think outside the box when building their creations.
Photo courtesy of LCC.Photo courtesy of LCC.
Through a partnership with Transport for London LEGO has created a life-sized London Underground tube carriage. The tube is the largest LEGO build in the store, is made up of 637,903 bricks and took 3,399 hours to build. The carriage offers fun photo opportunities and will be a must see for all the family.
Other highlights within the new London LEGO Store include:
Build a Minifigure Tower with Talking LEGO Minifigures – includes four different talking LEGO Minifigures including Lester, Royal Guard, Bobby the Policeman and Sherlock Holmes.
LEGO Minifigure Scanner – an interactive experience available from outside the store where people can find out which LEGO Minifigure they are.
Digital window display – state of the art screens that will show LEGO movies and clips.
Lester’s room housing a model of store mascot Lester for photo opportunities both inside and outside the store.
Brickadilly corner – an interactive information centre informing shoppers including in-store event schedules and highlighting retail experiences within the store.
Digital endless isle – a digital experience allowing shoppers to browse a digital catalogue of all LEGO sets available in store. It also calls for assistance by sending a message to the smart watches of store staff (photos courtesy of LCC).
“Our LEGO® Brand Retail stores are a lighthouse for the LEGO brand and an inspirational shopping channel for LEGO products. We offer a unique brand experience and supplement the combined offer for consumers alongside our trusted retail partners and online retailers. The new Leicester Square store is the 14th LEGO Store in the UK,” says Glenn Abell, Vice President and General Manager, Direct-to-Consumer EMEA.
LEGO Store London Facts and Figures
The LEGO® Store in London’s Leicester Square is the company’s 14th brand retail store in the United Kingdom and the 37th in the world
It is the biggest LEGO Store at 914 sqm
The project commenced in late 2014, took almost five months to build and opened on 17th November 2016
A custom-made Terrazzo floor brings the LEGO yellow colour to life throughout the store
There are over five tonnes of LEGO big build models displayed within the store, utilising a total of over 1.7 million bricks including:
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)
Photo courtesy of Promo Bricks.
The 1:15 scale model stands at two floors high, 6.5 metres
Comprises 344,020 LEGO bricks
Weighs 1,035 kgs
Took six model builders 2,735 hours to build
Features a working, backlit clock which chimes with a replica sound of the real bell, Big Ben
London Underground Train Carriage (Tube)
Photo courtesy of Promo Bricks.
The model stands at 2 metres high and 5 metres long
Features a seated William Shakespeare LEGO figure amongst other LEGO models
Comprises 637,902 LEGO bricks
Weighs 2,126 kgs
Took 3,399 hours to build
Telephone Box (photos courtesy of LCC).
The full sized replica of an iconic red telephone box stands at 2.6 metres tall
Comprises 220,470 LEGO bricks
Weighs 698 kgs
Took 883 hours to build
Brickley the LEGO Dragon (photos courtesy of LCC)
Brickley winds his way along the length of the Swiss Court window and is three separate builds
Comprises 250,785 LEGO bricks
Weighs 792 kgs in total
Took 725 hours to build
LEGO Store Entrance Archway
Photo courtesy of LCC.
A LEGO Leicester Square London Underground roundel sign sits between two street lamps to create an impressive 4.2 metres high archway in the entrance to the store
Comprises 81,000 LEGO bricks
Weighs 370 kgs (in total)
Took 438 hours to build
London Underground Map Mosaic
Comprises 16,500 LEGO bricks
Weighs 90 kgs
Took 90 hours to build
Lester Minifigure Statue
Lester is the LEGO minifigure mascot for the Leicester Square store
The statue stands at 1.2 metres tall on a 30 cm high customised plinth
Comprises 24,500 LEGO bricks
Weighs 57 kgs (in total)
Took two builders 90 hours to build
Royal Mail Post Box
Stands at over a metre tall
Comprises 20,700 LEGO bricks
Weighs 73 kgs
Took 105 hours to build
Skyline Mosaic
Photo courtesy of LCC.
Adorning the wall of the store staircase, this large-scale mosaic comprises 265,557 LEGO bricks
Weighs 57 kgs
And took 90 hours to build
Thanks again to the folks over at LCC, TBB and Promo Bricks for sharing with us the fun and excitement of the LEGO London Store’s opening.
