Crime+Investigation® Unveils Star-Studded Line-up for First Ever Crimecon UK

True crime TV channel Crime+Investigation® is set to bring a stellar line-up of TV personalities, leading true-crime experts and authors, renowned investigative journalists and content makers to the first-ever CrimeCon UK: a live, true crime event, to be held in London on 25^th-26^th September 2021.

With a host of speaking sessions across the main stage and more intimate breakout discussions over the two-day event, Crime+Investigation’s array of special guests will immerse true crime fans into real, powerful crime stories of survivors, families and perpetrators.

Home to top-rating series including Britain’s Darkest Taboos, Homicide Hunter, Murdertown and Murder at My Door with Kym Marsh, Crime+Investigation has been offering the very best British and international true crime content to UK audiences for nearly fifteen years.   

Crime+Investigation’s top talent who will feature at the event include actress and TV presenter Denise Welch, broadcaster and journalist Dermot Murnaghan and TV & radio broadcaster Anita Rani.

Denise’s new series Survivors with Denise Welch is due to premiere on C+I in Spring 2021, whilst Dermot - a long-time channel favourite - is the host of top-rated true crime series Crimes that Shook Britain and, most recently for C+I, Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan.  Last November, Anita Rani narrated Family Man, a one-off special about domestic abuse for C+I’s recent initiative to highlight and help end abuse against women. Rani will also star in C+I’s newly recommissioned show Murdertown 3. Coming up in the Autumn on the channel, the show tells the story of some of the most shocking murders in the UK and examines the impact they had on the local communities around them.

Accompanying Denise, Dermot and Anita are some of Crime+Investigation’s experts and contributors who’ve spent their careers investigating criminal behaviour. They include best-selling author Neil Lancaster, who took up writing after serving for twenty-five years in the Metropolitan Police; leading criminal psychologist and author Professor Paul Britton, and policing and geographic profiling expert, Dr Samantha Lundrigan.

Crime+Investigation will also host a session called I Am A Killer: the making and broadcasting of a true crime original  with the television production team from Znak&Co (Danny Tipping, Ned Parker and Zoe Hines), together with Head of Scheduling for C+I, Poonam Patel, hosted by Commissioning Editor and Head of Talent, Di Carter.

End Abuse Against Women is Crime+Investigation’s corporate social responsibility initiative in partnership with UK domestic abuse charity Refuge. At CrimeCon, there will be a session with Refuge to shed light on domestic abuse in the UK.

Mark Thomas, Head of UK and International Marketing at A+E Networks® UK, said:" We’re sure our brilliant panel of guests will be massive hits at the UK’s first-ever CrimeCon. As new fans will soon find out, CrimeCon is more than just an event: it is a platform for advocacy, education, compassion and justice, values that Crime+Investigation and our star-studded line-up hold dear. We can’t wait for what will be a fascinating weekend of true-crime exploration. It’s a must-attend for all fans of this genre.”  

With more exciting features, content and speakers due to be announced between now and September, look out for updates and more information at www.crimecon.co.uk.

About Crime + Investigation:

Crime + Investigation® opens the door to the complex, compelling world of real crime, taking viewers on a journey in pursuit of truth, justice, and a better understanding of criminal behaviour. Each journey is personal and emotional, telling the story through investigators, experts and those most affected. The channel is home to top-rating series such as Crimes That Shook Britain, Britain’s Darkest Taboos, Homicide Hunter and Cold Case Files. CI is available in more than 50million households in 18 languages.

About A+E Networks UK:

A+E Networks® UK, a joint venture between Hearst and Sky, is a leading media network reaching 58 million homes across 100 countries. With our global portfolio of popular, high-performing, and creative brands – SKY HISTORY, Crime + Investigation®, Lifetime®, SKY HISTORY2, and the UK free to air BLAZE® - we have entertained and inspired audiences for over 20 years; telling the stories that need to be told. Our award-winning factual and entertainment content includes global hit franchises like Forged in Fire and Born this Way, must-see dramas Knightfall and Vikings as well as original local commissions including: Al Murray’s Why Does Everyone Hate the English and Murdertown with Katherine Kelly (UK), Married at First Sight (Africa) and The Hunt for Baltic Gold (Poland). We complement our programming with innovative talent-led exclusive digital content and top-rated podcasts. We currently partner with over 360 operators broadcasting throughout the Nordics, Benelux, Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. We have offices in London, Warsaw, and Johannesburg.

About CrimeCon:

CrimeCon UK is owned and run by Exhibit A Events Ltd, a newly formed joint entity established by Kevin Balfe of Red Seat Ventures and Michael Dynan of The Assembly.

Red Seat Ventures are a US company, founders of CrimeCon and leaders in building and operating direct-to-fan live and digital businesses.

The Assembly are a UK based specialist in events, both physical and virtual and are formed to help partners from the UK and abroad in bringing overseas events or creating their I.P. into successful event formats.

Exhibit A will explore more opportunities within the true crime genre and also within the wider events sector.

The first CrimeCon launched in Nashville in 2017 to a room of just a few hundred true crime enthusiasts and in four years has grown several times larger, now hosting audiences in excess of 5000 people with an online community of over 300,000 people. The CrimeCon brand also hosts ‘crowd solve’ events where a few hundred of the most hardcore investigative fans get together and are allowed to examine evidence from cold cases to try and piece the clues together to give the law enforcement officers new leads in an otherwise cold case.

CrimeCon has always helped support the families, victims, survivors, and associated charities of crime. No-one is ever featured, no case talked about without the families of any survivors or victims being consulted and approving. It is often a place where families can keep their story in the public eye and can keep media attention drawn to their plight. (See Golden State Killer below).

Highlight - The Golden State Killer: In 2017, CrimeCon donated an exhibition booth to the survivors & family members of victims of the Golden State Killer to raise awareness and hand out information to help catch the GSK. They hosted a key session for them to tell their stories & ask for help in identifying the killer and to keep the case relevant. They were returning to CC18 in Nashville to do the same, but just before the event, the Golden State Killer was caught. Their session instead turned into a celebration of justice.

CrowdSolve Seattle:  In October of 2019, the first CrowdSolve event took place in Seattle. CrowdSolve was designed to let attendees experience what it is like to solve a cold case as a detective. They received the casefile, photos, and had the opportunity to speak with the actual Detective assigned to the case. The case chosen for the event was the disappearance of Nancy Moyer, a young mother from the Seattle area. Alongside a local podcaster, the attention to the case stirred up new information and someone came forward and confessed to Nancy’s disappearance.

CrowdSolve Chicago: In February 2020, the second CrowdSolve event took place in Chicago. The case was the unsolved death of Kurt Sova in 1981. Attendees delved into the material along with a team of students who had been working on the case. CrowdSolve helped the case gain huge national coverage when Selena Gomez posted a photo from her time at the event.