Organiser, Mash Media, held its new-look Event Production Show at Olympia’s exhibition centre, London from 5-6 February.
With standing room only on the main stage of the show’s Access Sessions, visitors heard from Michael Eavis on Glastonbury, from choosing the headline acts to staging, security and sustainability.
Planet Planit’s Paul Cook delivered a Conference News presentation on hybrid conferencing, with Reed Travel Exhibitions’ Head of Marketing and Hosted Buyer Programmes Mandy Torrens adding some case study insights into the EIBTM Hybrid Conference 2012 in Barcelona.
After the close of day one, over 500 industry professionals attended the Event Production Awards dinner at the Lancaster London hotel where, after networking and a three-course meal, 20 awards were presented by comedian Tom Stade. Winners on the night included David Bellamy of Showforce, who was recognised as Best Employee, while the Access All Areas Editor’s Award was presented to Kim Gavin, artistic director of the Olympic and Paralympic closing ceremonies.
Preliminary numbers indicated that this year’s show is set to be one of the busiest in its in history, Event Director Duncan Siegle noted, with visitors queuing through the day to meet with the 200-plus exhibitors and listen to the seminars, workshops and Access Sessions.
