EVENT MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Axe falls on Autumn Ideal Home Show ’07

Organiser DMG World Media has cancelled its Autumn Ideal Home Show, which was due to take place at Earls Court in October.

And even though it insists the show will be reinstated following the 2008 centenary celebrations of the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show, DMG has yet to confirm a new date.

Simon Mayle, the show’s marketing manager, said: “Next year’s 100th anniversary will be a focus for the team. We want a clear differentiation between the shows. It will take place again. Whether it will be under the guise of the Autumn Ideal Home Show, I do not know.”

The show launched in 2003 and most recently visited Earls Court between 6-15 October last year.

Robin Beaman, group show manager, said: “In the long-term this move will benefit both events and allow us to develop stronger, separate identities for each brand.”

The announcement follows the release of DMG’s financial results in November in which its consumer shows – which make up more than a third of the business – struggled, with profits falling 20%. This was attributed to slower high street spending and weakening consumer confidence. DMG’s recent trading statement acknowledged this trend across the UK, North America and Australia with the impact on the London Ideal Home Show the most significant.

The business-to-business sector fared better, helping the group’s operating profits rise by £300,000 to £24.4m. Revenue also rose by 7% to £163m.

DMG has secured celebrities Ainsley Harriot, Carole Smillie and Fearne Cotton as the official faces of the advertising campaign for the 2007 Daily Mail Ideal Home Show, which takes place from 9 March to 1 April. NPower has also been secured as title sponsor for the fourth year and will be joined by Marks & Spencer, which is sponsoring the show house feature.

London Fashion Week Shows

Organised by the British Fashion Council the London Fashion Week shows take place at Natural History Museum on Cromwell Road.

Showcasing the autumn/winter 2007 collections, drawing the glitterati of the fashion media and setting the tone for next seasons styles, the London Fashion Week shows are the place to see all the best in fashion and glamour.

Over 100 designers will hold a series of catwalk shows in vast white marquees during the London Fashion Week shows. With a mix of new designers taking to the stage, alongside their more established contemporaries, they unveil their new collections to a professional audience of press and buyers from the UK and cities across the globe.

A large number of static stands will showcase the best of British fashion and the fashion glitterati will be out in force to spot the hot new trends and be first in the queue for the best up and coming fashions.

If you would like to book tickets for the London Fashion Week shows, click here for more information.

Venue: Natural History Museum
Nearest tube: South Kensington

Gallagher glad to get lifetime honour while he is young

Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher is relieved he is receiving the Outstanding Contribution award at this year’s Brits - he wanted it while he still young to enjoy it.
The Wonderwall mastermind would hate to have received the honour when he is older because it would have felt like a sympathy vote - and the 39-year-old guitarist wants the British band to go out on a high.
He says: "I want to do it before I go bald. I’d like to do it before I’m 40 and still young to legitimately wear a black leather jacket. I’m glad we’re getting it now. When footage is shown of future Brits, there won’t be a fat, old geezers accepting it."
Former Beatle Ringo Starr will present the award to the band at next Wednesday’s music ceremony in London.

Earls Court plans rival to London Boat Show

Earls Court is planning to host a rival London Boat Show this year, just one month away from the 2008 Excel London event.

As Event went to press, the new show’s co-founder James Brooke was gearing up to unveil his plans for the independent marine consumer fair, scheduled to run at the west London venue from 1-9 December.

“We have an incredible team with enormous combined experience and expertise to make the Earls Court Boat Show a success” he said. “It will showcase our industry and support exhib-itors while focusing on creating sales for exhibitors. It will provide spectacular family entertainment and allow exhibitors to celebrate our industry.”

The Collins Stewart London Boat Show, organised by National Boat Shows (NBS) and owned by the British Marine Federation, took place at Excel London from 5-14 January.

NBS marketing director James Gower responded to the news of a rival west London event by saying: “The proposed December date clashes with the Paris boat show so the international contingent will be lost. The industry has failed to show support for privately owned shows in the past and although we are not complacent, I suspect the same will happen again.

“If last month’s show at Excel had continued to show decline then maybe there would be reason for concern but our success proves that London doesn’t actually need another boat show.”

An Earls Court insider told Event that the venue is excited about the revival of a west London boat show and it is likely to appeal to the sailing fraternity that is predominantly located in the west and south of the capital. An Excel London source confirmed that exhibitors at last month’s show had been approached with a view to signing up to the Earls Court event but many had declined.

WORLDEVENTS Unveils New Identity

Key appointments underpin strategic review

UK-based event organiser World Event Management has launched a new identity to reflect the group’s positioning and business ambitions. The company is now called WorldEvents.

A strategic review of the business follows a period of growth that has seen staff numbers grow from 54 to 83 since the end of 2004 and turnover grow from £20 million to £28 million in the same period.

Executive chairman, Graham Keene said the core of the strategy is the group’s desire to increase its geographic reach as well as the range of services it offers its clients.

To this end it has made a number of key appointments; Gary Dickinson, formerly in senior HR and communication roles on a global basis on the client side with Bristol Myers Squibb and American Express, joins as chief executive officer of WorldEvents Inc in New Jersey. His role will be to focus on the strategic growth of the US operations. Andrew Winterburn, currently operations director in the UK, will become European development director with responsibility for expanding the group’s European operations. Mark Bustard joins as creative/production director with experience of having worked with clients such as O2, Motorola and PlayStation and will focus on enhancing the company’s full service offer reporting into the company’s sales and marketing director, Mark Saxby.

Keene said: “It has been an exciting two years for the business and we are now investing in the group’s next stage of development in order to continue to serve our existing clients and to attract new ones."

Two additional recent new senior appointments have seen Cath Riley rejoin the company from Lloyds of London and Laura Taylor join the company from within the industry - both as account directors.

Martin Parry, managing director, added: “Cath and Laura bring a wealth of experience with them but it is not just at senior levels that we have been recruiting: we have also added an extra tier of office based event staff to enhance the service we are able to offer.” Parry continued: “In order to accommodate our additional staff we have significantly increased our office accommodation by expanding into an adjoining building, adding around 40 per cent to our existing space. We are therefore well placed for further growth.” www.worldevents.com