Global Update

There's been no halt to the number of worldwide show launches or date and location changes. Highlights of recent activity follow:

• Construction and congestion in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, including the area around the C.A. Knight Centre, have forced the Oil Sands Trade Show and Conference out of the city for the first time in its 22-year history. It will be held in Edmonton's Northlands Park Sept. 19–20, said Wes Scott, commercial and business development director for North America at dmg world media. Edmonton offers better venues, an international airport and numerous hotels, he added, but the show may move back to Ft. McMurray in 2008 after construction there is done. Meanwhile, dmg will launch four small events in Ft. McMurray.
• Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong will launch Yarn Expo Autumn 2007 as an independent trade event for fibers and yarns in Shanghai. After taking place for two years alongside Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, the yarn event will go independent Oct. 29–31 at the Shanghai Intl. Convention Centre. A free shuttle bus will connect it to the Shanghai New Intl. Expo Centre where the apparel fabrics show will take place Oct. 29–Nov. 1.
• Koelnmesse will hold the first Imaging Expo Singapore, incorporating P.I.X. — Photo Imaging X-change, Nov. 2–4 at Suntec Intl. Convention and Exhibition Centre. The specialized imaging and photography show for the Southeast Asian and Pacific region will focus on the merger of art with the technology of imaging and photography and is expected to span 8,000 square meters (86,100 square feet) of exhibit space.
• The All in Glass China Intl. Exhibition for Glass Technology will debut Nov. 21–24 in Guangzhou. Organizers Messe Duesseldorf China and the China Foreign Trade Center Group, supported by glasstec, a biennial international trade fair for the glass industry in Duesseldorf, said they expect about 250 exhibitors and 12,000 visitors. Three events will be held concurrently with All in Glass: the Intl. Automobile Exhibition and the annual meetings of two regional glass industry associations.
• The United Arab Emirates government's Zayed Complex for Herbal Research will launch Arab Naturals 2007 — Traditional and Complementary Healthcare Expo & Conferences Dec. 4–6 at the Beach Rotana Hotel & Towers in Abu Dhabi. The event will be the city's first for natural and health care products and therapies.
• Berne, Switzerland-based Ornaris has changed the dates of Ornaris Zurich '08, a trade fair for novelties and trends, to a Friday-through-Monday timeframe as the result of a customer survey. The event will be held Jan. 18–21 at the Zurich Fair Center, and in Berne Aug. 12–15.
• NuernbergMesse will debut CholodExpo Rossija, an annual international exhibition for the refrigeration industry, Feb. 19–21 at Moscow's Crocus Expo Center. NuernbergMesse subsidiary Nuernberg Global Fairs is responsible for hands-on management with its local partner, the Giproholod Institute in Moscow.
• The Alcastek 2008 technical conference on aluminum innovations and Reed Exhibitions will jointly launch Aluminium India 2008 Feb. 22–24 in Mumbai's Bombay Exhibition Centre. The show focuses on the Indian aluminum industry in the context of global markets and technology. Organizers expect approximately 100 exhibitors and 3,000 attendees to participate.
• The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development will manage the Doha Intl. Maritime Defence Exhibition March 17–19 at the Qatar Intl. Exhibition Centre. The foundation, established to develop the country's conventions and exhibitions sector, is a joint venture between Qatar Foundation and Singex Global, a Singapore-based company.
• A new biking show has announced its dates. BikeAsia 2008 will run April 10–13 at Singapore Expo. The show, a joint venture between Italy's EICMA and Singapore's Innovative Exhibition, is projected to occupy about 20,000 sq. m. (215,280 sq. ft.).
• Austrian organizer MSI Fairs & Exhibitions will debut sweetec russia, an international trade fair for the Russian sweets, confectionery and baking industry, April 28–30 at the Expocentr Krasnaya Presnya in Moscow. Visitors will include regional government representatives, importers and wholesalers from the food and beverage industry and restaurants, cafés, bakeries and shops.
• The Finnish Paper Engineers' Assn., E.J. Krause & Associates and their Chinese partners will sponsor China Paper Shanghai Sept. 17–19, 2008, and hold a pulp and paper industry conference in conjunction with it. The 2008 show will be the 16th for China's paper-related industries. John Gallagher, EJK senior vice president, said his company and the association are discussing a similar agreement for EJK's PAP-FOR Russia 2008.
• Messe Duesseldorf Asia, Allworld Exhibitions and Bangkok Exhibition Services will jointly launch Plastics & Rubber Vietnam 2008, an international technology and materials exhibition Oct. 21–23 in Ho Chi Minh City. Gernot Ringling, managing director of Messe Duesseldorf Asia, which has organized plastics-related exhibitions in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, said the collaboration on Plastics & Rubber Vietnam would make the exhibition a leading platform for processors from across the country.
• Messe Berlin will debut ITB Asia, a new tradeshow and convention for the Asia-Pacific travel industry, Oct. 22–24 at Suntec Singapore. The new show, a clone of parent event ITB Berlin, will target outbound Asia-Pacific buyers, small and medium enterprises, and suppliers to the industry at large.
• Diversified Exhibitions Australia acquired the Australasian Oil & Gas Show from Perth, Australia-based Swan Exhibitions. Financial terms were not disclosed. The next edition of the biennial energy event is scheduled for 2009 in Perth. This is the latest in a series of recent Diversified Exhibitions Australia acquisitions, including the Australian Fitness Expo, Retail Business Technology, Security Expo and Shopfit Display & Design.