Licensing International has now unveiled its full list of finalists for 2025’s Global Excellence Awards, which will be presented live at Luxor’s Hyper X Arena in Las Vegas on May 19. 

More than 800 entries were submitted this year across 32 categories, and they’ve now been whittled down to 209 finalists by a panel of 200 judges and industry experts. The most relevant categories for the kids industry are Best Licensed Brand, Best Toy Brand and Best Animated Brand, but LI has also expanded its awards program with new categories recognizing apparel and lifestyle brands. 

The LEGO Group is looking like a tough competitor to beat this year, with nine nods total in categories including Best Toys, Games, Novelties, or Role Play Product for ages 0-8 (F1 and Peppa Pig) and 8+ (Dune and Jaws), Best Home Décor or Homeware Product (H&M and Nordic Housewares Group) and Best Interactive or Digital Product (LEGO DUPLO Peppa Pig).  

A real battle royale is brewing in the Best Interactive or Digital Brand race, with Fortnite, Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, Stumble Guys and Tetris on the shortlist. And Best Toy Brand promises to be another hotly contentious category, with Hasbro’s FurReal and Littlest Pet Shop brands duking it out with Barbie, Squishmallows and Toy2R’s adult collectibles brand Qee. 

Meanwhile, BBC Studios’ Bluey is looking to repeat as Best Animated Brand, going up against Minions, Moana 2, SpongeBob SquarePants, Peppa Pig, Peanuts and Barney. 

The full list of the 2025 Global Excellence Awards finalists can be found here.