Organiser of The Showman’s Show, Dorset, UK-based Lance Show & Publications Limited, has announced that the 35th edition of the UK event, founded in 1984, for the outdoor and special event sector, will not go ahead as planned this October.
The plan is to return with the next edition to Newbury Showground, 20-21 October 2021.
Jeremy and Johnny Lance, co-directors of Lance Show and Publications Limited, issued the following statement on the situation: “As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our wonderful industry we have taken the extremely difficult decision not to go ahead with The Showman’s Show 2020 this October.
“Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak we have closely monitored guidance and advice from the government and PHE and remained optimistic that we would be able to safely deliver the 35th edition of the show as planned.
“The new guidelines do offer some hope for the industry that smaller outdoor events can begin to return. However, it is increasingly clear that any event we produce will have greatly reduced exhibitor and visitor numbers. This would result in a scaled down version of The Showman’s Show that wouldn’t offer the experience that our visitors expect or the return on investment that our highly valued exhibitors, not only deserve but need after such an incredibly difficult year.
“The industry now needs time to recover, and collectively our efforts need to be focussed on bouncing back stronger than ever. We will work hard to ensure that The Showman’s Show 2021 remains the perfect platform for bringing event professionals together to share best practice and do business.
“In the meantime, we will do everything in our power to support our exhibitors and the wider industry in the coming months and will be utilising our website, newsletters and social media platforms to share news and updates. We also intend to mark the two days when the show would have been held, 21-22 October, with a host of online activity. More details will be released in due course.”
