Demise of the AGI Exhibition

Thursday, 22 February, 2007

Well it had been on the cards since the the AGI took over the exhibition from CMP after the 2003 show at Earls Court, but now its “official”. From a recent email:

“In response to feedback, the residential conference format will not include a large-scale public exhibition as in previous years”

Which in “normal speak” means “we’ve canned the exhibition and gone back to the conference only and, to save money, we’ll hold it at the cheapest venue we could find.” Its a shame because the exhibition has been a valuable part of the GI industry in the UK. Certainly the Solutions Centres that I have been involved in have been enjoyable experiences. The last CMP organised Solutions Centre was a huge success. Neither of the Chelsea exhibitions were successful, due mainly to the appalling show space at Chelsea. The Design Centre in Islington was a brilliant venue but the footfall disappointingly low. The AGI should see this as a major failing; whether this is their fault is a mute point. Maybe footfall was decreasing anyway…

Anyway, I can’t help but think that ditching the exhibition is destroying the community (thanks Ken) rather than “Building a GeoCommunity” (conference theme!).

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