Riot Games is returning LEC XPO to the LEC Summer Finals in Nice. The official League of Legends fan festival for the EMEA region will take place on September 19 and 20 at the city’s historic Jardin Albert 1er, running as a free outdoor event open to all ages.
While the LEC Summer Finals themselves will be held at the Palais Nikaia, the XPO moves the community experience into the streets and parks of Nice. The festival grounds at Jardin Albert 1er will open at 11:00 local time each day, closing at 19:00 on Saturday and 18:00 on Sunday. Fans can expect meet-and-greet opportunities with players and staff from G2 Esports and Karmine Corp, with additional teams still to be announced.
Partner booths and activities will be provided by KIA, Kit Kat, Euronics, Red Bull, and ExpressVPN. Riot has also promised experiences tied to other titles in its portfolio, including Teamfight Tactics, along with a broader cultural celebration designed to bring elements of Runeterra into the real world for attendees.
For fans who do not have tickets to the main arena, Riot is organizing a free open-air watch party at the Théâtre de Verdure, which sits within the same Jardin Albert 1er park. The venue has limited capacity, so the company is encouraging people to reserve a free watch-party ticket in advance to guarantee entry. In its announcement Riot invited fans to "pack a picnic, gather with your friends under the Mediterranean sun, and watch the LEC matches together."
LEC XPO has become an established part of the region’s biggest offline events. Previous editions have given players and supporters a chance to interact outside the arena, try hands-on activities, and experience the community side of professional League of Legends. Bringing the festival back to Nice for the Summer Finals continues that model while taking advantage of the city’s outdoor spaces and late-summer weather.
The timing places the XPO across the final weekend of the LEC Summer season. Matches inside the Palais Nikaia will decide the regional champion and the teams that advance further into the international calendar. Having a free public festival running in parallel allows a much larger number of fans to feel part of the event even if they cannot secure arena seats.
G2 Esports and Karmine Corp are two of the most followed organizations in the LEC. Their confirmed presence at the XPO gives attendees a high chance of seeing well-known players and content creators up close. Additional team announcements closer to the date should expand those opportunities further.
The inclusion of partner activations and multi-game experiences reflects how Riot has expanded these fan festivals beyond pure League of Legends content. Teamfight Tactics activities and the broader Runeterra-themed cultural elements are intended to appeal to fans of the wider universe while still centering the LEC Finals weekend.
Because both the XPO and the watch party are free, the main barrier for most fans will simply be travel and accommodation in Nice during a busy period. The limited capacity at the Théâtre de Verdure makes the free reservation system important for anyone who wants to watch the matches in the official outdoor setting rather than on a personal device or at a secondary venue.
Riot has stated that more details will be released as the dates approach. That typically includes the full schedule of appearances, specific activity lineups, any additional teams, and practical information about queues, security, and accessibility. For now the core information is locked in: two full days of free outdoor programming at Jardin Albert 1er, high-profile team presence, partner booths, multi-game experiences, and a dedicated watch party for the Finals matches.
The return of LEC XPO underlines Riot’s continued investment in offline community events in EMEA. After years of refining the format, the festival has become a reliable way to turn a championship weekend into a broader celebration that reaches fans beyond the arena walls. In Nice that celebration will take place under open skies in one of the city’s most recognizable public gardens.
Fans planning to attend can already mark September 19 and 20 on their calendars. The LEC Summer Finals will decide the season’s champion inside the Palais Nikaia. Outside, at Jardin Albert 1er, the free LEC XPO and watch party will give the wider community its own stage. With G2 and Karmine Corp confirmed and more teams still to be named, the weekend is shaping up as one of the larger public League of Legends gatherings on the 2026 European calendar.