Date: 3rd June 2026 Location: Park Avenue, London, NW10, UK The Park Avenue Open Day is an annual tradition for those in the UK’s coin-op and amusement trades. Park Avenue was once the focal point for many amusement importers and distributors in the UK, with multiple companies having branches or warehouses along the small but teeming street. These days, the largest distributors there are Electrocoin and UDC (United Distributing Company). For the Open Day these two companies open their neighbouring premises to showcase the latest products from a wide range of manufacturers, but also to provide a hub for industry professionals to socialise. A third, and equally important aspect of the Park Avenue Open Day is to raise money for the BACTA Charitable Trust which donates money to a range of good causes. This year’s Open Day took place on Wednesday 3rd June. While the weather the previous week had been hot and sunny with record-breaking May temperatures, sadly things took a turn for the worse as we entered June, resulting in cooler temperatures and plenty of rain showers for the event. Despite that, a hardy few still managed to brave the elements and make use of the roadside seating. Electrocoin (left) and UDC (right) on Park Avenue Most of the activity appeared to take place in Electrocoin’s building, were guests were greeted with a glass of champagne. Electrocoin’s building on Park Avenue A glass of fizz awaited visitors Inside, it was surprisingly busy, with Electrocoin’s warehouse area particularly packed. In the Electrocoin warehouse As socialising can be a thirsty business, a free bar was set up at the back of the room. Assorted alcoholic and soft beverages were available as well as tea and coffee (plus biscuits) The view from the bar Throughout the building, groups gathered to catch up and discuss the latest news from the coin-op business, as well as check out the newest products. More socialising Some of the products on display More amusement machines in the Electrocoin showroom So far you might have noted the absence of pinball machines in the mix of amusements. That’s because they were located in a separate side room. Electrocoin are UK distributors for Stern Pinball, and for this Open Day there were three special visitors from Chicago in the form of Gary Stern, John Buscaglia and the new Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye game. The pinball room Gary Stern and John Buscaglia of Stern Pinball John will be heading up Stern Pinball’s new European office in Amsterdam, and hopes to relocate to the Netherlands a little later this year. The three Stern Pinball machines set up to play We believe this is the first time the new Transformers game has been publicly shown outside of the Stern Pinball factory. The new Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Pro model game The three games featured in a special high score leaderboard set up for the Open Day. Sadly though, when we tried to log-in to the Transformers game with our Insider Connected account we were told the machine was offline. No scores yet recorded Next door, UDC also opened their showroom to display their wide range of products. The UDC building on Park Avenue Inside the UDC showroom More amusements in the UDC showroom As lunchtime approached, guests gravitate to the back of the Electrocoin building where food was being served. The catering tent Traditional Greek-style food was prepared Accompanying dishes There was also a more traditionally British option available We mentioned earlier about the fundraising for the BACTA Charitable Trust. There was a prize raffle held with tickets costing £5 for a strip of five tickets, with some attractive prizes donated by Open Day sponsors. The Park Avenue Open Day’s charitable angle The list of raffle prizes Sadly we couldn’t stay for the raffle draw and had to leave the Park Avenue Open Day around lunchtime just as food was being served. Despite the occasional heavy rain outside, all the guests appeared to thoroughly enjoy their visit. Huge thanks to Electrocoin, UDC, Stern Pinball and all the other sponsors of the event. As this was our first time attending the Open Day, it was a nice surprise to be able to play the new Transformers game and also to chat with Gary and John once again.
