VENUEMASTERS is pleased to announce the success of the 2009 Academic Venue Show with over 400 visitors in attendance, a 15% increase on 2008. The ‘buzzing’ event took place on 13 May at the Emirates Stadium in London and feedback has been extremely positive.
Initial visitor comments include: ‘An excellent show all round, plenty of good information’ - Philip Bulmer, Emmanuel Centre and ‘In a busy world, an excellent opportunity to obtain information about so many potential venues for our meetings’ – Kevin Macan-Lind, Institute of Acoustics.
There were over 40 top academic venues exhibiting, promoting their facilities for a wide range of events. Visitors could also attend three industry seminars, gain CV advice and take a tour of the impressive stadium which over 30 people booked on.
Swansea University exhibited at the event and Conference Services Manager Nanele Lewis commented: ‘This is the best show we have attended for some time and we had some excellent enquiries.’ Sian Fraser, Marketing and Sales Manager at York Conferences added: ‘This was one of our best shows; excellent people attending and a lot of genuine leads.’
Visitors to the show could also enjoy taste experiences, entertainment from popular magician Harry Robson, plus numerous promotions and giveaways from the exhibitors. David Beckham* was also on hand to welcome visitors to the event!
The best stand award was introduced to reward exhibitors for their efforts in helping to make the show a success. This year’s winner was Keele Conferences who based the theme of their stand around the current popularity of historical venues amongst event organisers.
VENUEMASTERS Chief Executive, Terry Billingham commented: ‘The move to a new venue gave us a chance to refresh the show and add some new elements for 2009. These elements plus support from the exhibitors helped to create a real buzz and the show’s success in the current economic climate is something to celebrate. The appeal of academic venues continues to gain momentum and visitor numbers at the event highlights this.’