England's Event Show, now in its sixth year, drew a sizable crowd of entertainment industry types January 4-16. Formerly for outdoor events only, the show has been revamped to encompass indoor entertainment as well, and as a result attracted lighting, sound, and production companies to the exhibition floor. The show is largely for networking, and not for product launches.
"We were busy right up to the last day, not the usual afternoon wind down at all," reports organizer Graham Brown. Attendance increased 5% to 4,500 during the three-day show, and the 1998 edition will be staged at London's Docklands Arena due to greater demand for stand space.
Seminars were run by a gamut of heavy hitters. The only one that was less than full was that concerning the new initiative by Access All Areas (AAA), the Inside Communications publication under whose aegis the seminars are staged. Under the banner "One industry, one voice," AAA has sought to unify the many and varied trade associations to strengthen their arguments against the ever-burgeoning legislation that emanates from the European Union in Brussels. In an average week the EU Commission and its organs produce 100 separate legislative items, some affecting the entertainment and events industries, that automatically have to be adopted as law in each of the member nations.
The small number of people that attended the seminar was no indication of apathy. Quite the opposite: Most of those present were representatives of the very organizations and associations AAA was targeting. A consensus was reached to maintain a forum for communication and coordination as new EU regulations are adopted.