If you’re an American, chances are you voted last week in the election. No matter which presidential candidate you voted for, the big winners of the night were the two convention centers that hosted the watch parties. Chicago’s McCormick Place hosted the Obama camp, while the Boston Convention Center was the gathering place for Romney supporters. EXPO has a great article on how both venues made these highly visible events happen.
Here are some shows that have recently come up winners as well:
- In spite of travel complications caused by Superstorm Sandy, the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit posted their biggest show ever with more than 21,000 attendees from 61 countries, up 10% from the previous record. This year also marked a reduction from a three-day show to only two days.
- PACK EXPO International also fought an uphill battle of storm-related flight cancellations to achieve a 3-percent increase over the 2010 event, with more than 45,000 attendees at McCormick Place. The number of exhibiting companies was also up by 7 percent (1,965), with a 6 percent increase in exhibiting space. PACK EXPO credits a large part of that growth to their strategy to attract an international audience.
- And speaking of international, the recent International Fair of Havana (FIHAV) hosted more than 3,000 exhibitors from 62 countries, making it that country’s largest show in a decade.
- At the Javits Center in New York City, life begins to return to normal with the International Hotel Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) this week (Nov. 10-13). While the Javits itself wasn’t severely damaged during the storm, the biggest challenge came from logistics and shipping issues. To support storm victims, IHMRS is making a donation to the American Red Cross and is encouraging exhibitors to donate products and booth samples to City Harvest and Housing Works at the close of the show.
Not everyone is a winner these days though. Plans for the proposed Nashville Medical Trade Center have been scrapped, even though the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and several other exhibitors had already signed on. It seems there just wasn’t enough interest to move the project forward, according to organizers.
