UK - Marine Industry Events (MIE) has cancelled the Liverpool Boat Show two months out from its launch event.
In a statement on its website, MIE attributed the decision to a deteriorating economic climate which damaged the leisure marine sector and impacted exhibitor take-up. It also claimed key exhibitors withdrew their support for the Liverpool event after a “commercially disastrous” London Boat Show in January.
The Liverpool Boat Show was due to take place from 29 April to 8 May.
“Our decision is obviously appalling news and it has been an extremely difficult decision to take, not least because of the enormous sense of responsibility and partnership we feel for everyone in Liverpool,” MIE MD Rob Mackenzie said.
“The failure and the financial loss and its consequences is MIE’s to bear alone, but it is better to cancel the show to protect Liverpool’s reputation rather than to allow exhibitors who booked in good faith and visitors who would have travelled from all over the country in expectation of the participation of brands who’d made late decisions not to take part.”
The Liverpool Boat Show was launched 18 months ago and backed by the city council and its corporate partners, British Waterways, Liverpool Marina, Albert Dock Liverpool and the local sailing community. Although initial exhibitor interest was high, economic conditions for the industry’s retailers deteriorated rapidly in November, Mackenzie explained, before coming to a head after the London International Boat Show.
“More than anything else, we’ve cancelled the show to protect the integrity of what we know to be the enormous long-term potential for a major Boat Show in Liverpool,” Mackenzie continued. “So many of the marine industry’s key players and its press have now seen and understood the unique possibilities of a Liverpool Boat Show, and it is only the consequence of disastrous market conditions which have forced the industry to draw back from embracing the concept fully.”
Cabinet member for culture and tourism Councillor Wendy Simon was extremely disappointed by the news, but pointed out it had two other maritime events taking place in the city this year: On The Waterfront (the opening of the Liverpool Museum) from 22 to 24 July and The River Festival from 8 to 15 September.
“We are very aware of the economic impact this will have on our tourism economy. However the boat show is just one of three major maritime events we have in place and we will look to those to mitigate the effects for those businesses concerned,” Simon stated. “We have the building blocks in place to stage other exciting maritime events and to revive the Boat Show in the future when the national economic outlook recovers.”
Discussions between Liverpool City Council and other local partners have now started on whether an alternative event can be staged. But whatever the outcome, MIE will have no further involvement in the process.
“We have already started to consider what we can do to minimise the economic impact of the cancellation of the Liverpool Boat Show,” Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said in the statement. “There has already been significant investment by MIE and British Waterways in establishing world-class berthing and staging facilities and we intend to use them to the city’s best advantage.”
It has been a difficult time for international boat shows around the globe, however the market is picking up in areas. The Vancouver International Boat Show is one show due to run this year for the first time in two years after the cancellation of its 2010 edition.
How do you feel about the demise of the Liverpool Boat Show? Email us at: exhibitionworld@mashmedia.co.uk
