Salute

Salute is a wargaming show held once a year, for one day only, at ExCeL London in the Docklands. Under one roof you'll find traders from the UK and abroad, clubs running demonstration and participation games, main-stage talks, workshops and a painting competition. Historical, fantasy and sci-fi all have a place, and the organiser describes it as family friendly.

It's a big show. The organiser describes the day as thousands of guests, hundreds of games, traders and clubs, and says Salute 53, in April 2026, had over 7,400 visitors, its biggest attendance yet.

Who runs it

The South London Warlords started life in September 1971 as the South Bermondsey Military Modelling Society, later becoming the South London Warlords Wargaming and Military Modelling Club. It's still a small, non-profit club, and it has met at St Barnabas Church Hall in Dulwich Village since 1995. The same club that ran the first Salute runs it today.

Fifty years of venues

The club's history page tells the story of a show that kept outgrowing its home. In its own words, every year a new and bigger venue was needed.

• 1972The first Salute, at the Surrey Tavern by the Oval cricket ground
• 1973 to 1978The Westminster and Regency hotels, Chelsea Town Hall and, in 1977, Margate
• 1979 to the late 1990sKensington and Chelsea Town Hall
• 2000 to 2005Olympia 2
• 2006 onwardsExCeL London, in the Docklands
• 2023The 50th Salute, held at ExCeL in April

Salute 2027 is on Saturday 17 April 2027 at ExCeL London. The status above reads Confirmed, which means the organiser has published the date on its own site. It's one day only, as it is every year, so everything happens on the Saturday.

Opening times, as the organiser gives them on its plan your visit page: Queue hall opens 8.30am, show 10am to 5pm. The queue hall opening early matters because of the goodie bags. The first 5,000 visitors get a goodie bag with an official miniature, and they go first come, first served, so the people at the front of the queue are the ones who get them.

The theme for Salute 54 hasn't been announced yet. Each show has one (the April 2026 show's was cavalry), along with its own official miniature, which gets a painting competition category of its own. The theme, the games list, the traders list and the hall map are all marked "to be confirmed" on the organiser's next show page for now, so it's worth checking back in the new year.

Stay in the loop

The organiser runs a visitor mailing list, and its next show page is where the ticket launch, the goodie bag contents and the official miniature will appear. Sign up through the next Salute page if you don't want to miss the ticket launch.

Entry to Salute is paid. When we checked, the organiser's next show page said "No Tickets Yet" for 2027, and no prices had been published. Once tickets are on sale, the button below takes you to the right place.

Here's how buying works, going by the organiser's plan your visit page:

• Online: tickets are sold online, and online sales stay open until 3pm on the day of the show.
• On the door: you can pay by cash or card at the door, and the organiser says door prices are normally slightly more.
• Limited numbers: the visitor FAQs say tickets on the day are limited and the show keeps getting more popular, so buy in advance or arrive very early.
• Accessibility: there are disability tickets, and seating is available for people holding them.
• Re-entry: you can leave and come back. Your hand is stamped on the way out.

The organiser doesn't publish child prices, concessions or family tickets on the pages we checked, so look at the ticket page when it opens rather than guessing.

ExCeL has a lot of doors, so it helps to know which one is yours. For Salute 54 the organiser gives the entrance as Door S20, eastern end of the site, off ExCeL's main pedestrian boulevard. It sits roughly halfway between Prince Regent and Custom House stations.

Driving in from the east

The organiser's route from the A13 and A406: at Beckton Roundabout take the A1020 Royal Docks Road to Gallions Roundabout, take the fourth exit onto Royal Albert Way, then carry on westbound to the ExCeL London Roundabout.

Two more things for drivers. London driving charges may apply on your way in, including for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, so check before you set off. And the organiser lists a few other car parks near ExCeL as examples only; it hasn't vetted them, so read the details before you book one.

The trade hall

Traders come from across the UK and from abroad, with new releases and hobby products of every kind. The April 2026 show's exhibitor list ran to more than 130 entries. Most of it is wargaming, but the organiser's FAQs say you'll also find card, board and roleplaying games and cosplay bits. Walk the whole hall before you spend, then go back for the things you can't stop thinking about.

Games to watch and join

The organiser says it usually has around 100 participation games, where you sit down and play, plus demonstration games to admire and ask questions about. They're run by clubs and exhibitors, and the spread is wide. The April 2026 games list ran from ancient battles and the 16th century through the Jacobite rising, colonial wars and the Second World War to the Korean War and an alternative Cold War, alongside fantasy and sci-fi tables. Rules on show included Frostgrave, Chain of Command, BattleTech, Trench Crusade and Burrows & Badgers. Each year's list is published on the organiser's site before the show.

There were a few surprises too: a ship's bridge simulator with taster sessions and a historical fencing club running demonstrations. It's a good sign of how broad the show is.

No tournaments

Salute isn't a tournament show. The club doesn't run any competitive play on the day, because it's mainly a trade and public participation event, so you don't need to bring an army. If you're after tournaments, the UK hobby calendar lists shows that run them.

Hobby Heroes and workshops

Hobby Heroes is the show's main-stage panel programme, back each year, where you can hear from game authors, get tips from painters and artists, and put questions to historians and wargamers. Around the hall, exhibitors run painting workshops, wargaming demos, learn-to-play sessions and model building, and there's speed painting too. The line-up changes every year.

Dressed to Impress

Costume is welcome, from historical re-enactment to sci-fi and fantasy cosplay. The organiser calls it Dressed to Impress and has published galleries from past shows. You don't have to dress up, but plenty of people do.

The official miniature

Each Salute has its own official miniature, tied to the theme, which goes in the goodie bag. The April 2026 show also offered a free digital miniature, a file to print at home, through the show guide.

The painting competition sits in the very middle of the hall, with entries shown in glass cabinets. It's judged by a panel of expert guest painters, and the standard can be high, but the organiser is clear that anyone can enter and that it wants people to have a go. Even if you're not entering, a slow wander past the cabinets is one of the best bits of the day.

The categories

The organiser's rules list fourteen categories. Historical, fantasy and sci-fi each get the first three below, which makes nine, and the other five are open to any genre:

How to enter

What you can win

Each category awards first, second and third place, judged by the expert panel. One entry from across the whole competition is chosen as Best of Show and wins the Salute Shield trophy. The club also judges three Hobby Awards of its own: Big Battalion for the best proper wargaming unit of at least 24 figures, Tiny Troops for the best entry at 20mm or under, and Warlords' Choice for the most creative and imaginative entry, whatever the technique.

If you're thinking of entering, our guides on how to enter a painting competition and a four week competition plan will help you get ready, and the organiser has galleries of past winners on its competition page.

Is it good for beginners?

Yes. The organiser says it's a good place for newcomers: with around a hundred participation games and learn-to-play sessions, you can try a period or a set of rules without owning a single model, and local clubs are often exhibiting if you want somewhere to play afterwards.

Can children go?

Yes. The organiser describes Salute as family friendly, with plenty for children to see and do, and says many of the organisers first came as kids. Young painters aged 16 and under even have their own Junior painting category. Child ticket prices weren't published when we checked.

Going on your own?

Lots of people do. Everyone there is a fellow hobbyist, and a participation game is an easy way to start a conversation.

Details checked against the organiser's website in October 2026. Always check the official site before you travel. The organiser's plan your visit and visitor FAQs pages are the place for anything this guide doesn't cover.

Planning more than one show this year? Our miniature events around the world page lists the big shows by region, and the UK hobby calendar covers the UK year month by month.