London Show Draws Well

LONDON – The seventh Natural Stone Show ended its run here in early April with what appears to be a good attendee turnout for a record number of exhibitors.
Attendance numbers are still being verified, but show organizers are confident they will match the 5,000-plus crowd at the last event in 2004.
The biennial event also managed to squeeze a seven-percent increase in exhibitors into the same hall size at London’s ExCeL exhibition complex by making aisles narrower. The increase from 2004 was less than the 30-percent jump from 2002 to 2004, but the show still presented a healthy trade floor with more than 300 companies represented in 224 stands.
Show director Richard Bradbury was delighted with the event, and praised exhibitors for the high quality of their exhibits.
“Reports coming back to me indicate a lot of stands have had a tremendously successful show,” he said. “That means a lot of visitors have gone away satisfied. That win-win scenario is what the show’s all about.”
Colin Goble, president of Stone Federation Great Britain, said, “I have been to all the Natural Stone Shows, and this is definitely the best. Everyone says what a well-organized show it is.”
Along with spotlighting stone suppliers and distributors from the United Kingdom, 56 percent of the stands featured overseas exhibitors
The second edition of the Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference, running concurrently with the event, included presentation by U.K. architects and preservationists. Each of the presentations attracted audiences of 50-100; the conference is organized in conjunction with English Heritage and the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects).
The eighth Natural Stone Show will be at ExCeL on March 11-13, 2008.