The London Golf Show 2008, billed as ‘Europe’s largest consumer golf show’, is now taking bookings for the golfing extravaganza which takes place from 25-27 April 2008 and there are great benefits for early bookers.
The Golf Show Co’s managing director, Andy Barwell, said, “The London Golf Show has proven massively popular in the last three years and the 2008 event will only build upon that.
“Obviously there has been a lot of excitement throughout the industry about our new show at the NEC, but London will always be our flagship event. To that end we want to ensure we maintain the high standard of exhibitors we’ve previously enjoyed and are accepting bookings earlier than planned and we look forward to seeing everyone at ExCeL.”
The Golf Show Co attributes much of the London show’s success to it being based at the award-winning ExCeL Centre in London’s Docklands.
Barwell added, “The facilities available at a venue like ExCeL have enabled us to put on a fantastic show for the past three years and will continue to do so in the future. The infrastructure here is superb, offering everything organisers and exhibitors could want as well as being able to cope with tens of thousands of visitors on a daily basis.
“Other shows have gone down a different route and are holding events on golf courses but we’re more than happy where we are. There’s ample space, car parking, transport links, electricity, wireless networks, to name just a few benefits – and it can’t rain! And our exhibitor satisfaction ratings and the number of people visiting the shows support the argument that ExCeL is the venue for a show of this stature.”
In the last three years, the London Golf Show has seen more than 800 exhibitors showcase their products to in excess of 90,000 people. Booking trends indicate there will again be more than 200 exhibitors at April’s event – the fourth London Golf Show.
It is the largest consumer golf show in Europe and is a founder member of the European Golf Shows Association which was the brainchild of Michael Jacoby, of Rheingolf (Cologne), who felt such a move could only strengthen what is already a growing industry.
Jacoby said, “This will be a superb development for both the trade and the visitors to all our shows. It will ensure that members’ golf shows across the continent are of the highest standard.”
Award-winning retailer american golf is the official retail partner for both of the Golf Show Co’s events and managing director Andrew Macdonald is an unabashed fan of the shows. He said, “We have continuously been voted the number one golf retailer and we continue to be the retail partner for the shows at ExCeL and the NEC – I think that speaks volumes.”
During the last three years more than £1.2m has been spent on PR and marketing for the London show with an estimated value of more than £2.5m placed on the media coverage achieved.
Partnerships with golf unions, official bodies and industry leaders have seen email blasts received by more than 400,000 golfers, with in excess of 1.25m golf club members exposed to marketing materials.
Last year the Golf Show Co partnered with leading London publisher RunWild Media to produce 60,000 copies of Chip & Pin, a luxury golf lifestyle title which doubled as the showguide, with half its distribution in and around the Canary Wharf financial district. The magazine, which proved immensely popular with exhibitors, visitors and members of the media, will return for its second edition in 2008.
London Golf Show www.londongolfshow.com