Slowing Economy Equals Cancellations

The latest international tradeshow news includes the usual show launches, cancellations and relocations, along with an unusual appearance of Istanbul in the news, and a new show name.

Messe Duesseldorf's IGEDO canceled the Weare Duesseldorf fashion trade fair after its first year. The show debuted Feb. 8-10, attracting only 879 attendees.

Messe Frankfurt postponed the Hair & Beauty show planned April 27-28. Organizers made the decision after many hair and cosmetics industry leaders failed to register for this year's show. Messe Frankfurt will decide on Hair & Beauty's future after consulting with the Federation of the German Hairdressing Trade, the event's sponsor, the advisory council, and exhibitor and attendee representatives. Messe Frankfurt took over Hair & Beauty from previous organizer Kater Marketing in April 2006. The first Hair & Beauty produced by Messe Frankfurt in 2007 attracted about 37,000 visitors.

A year after it bought the show, Reed Exhibitions canceled the May 15-18 photo-london at Old Billingsgate market in London. But Reed Exhibitions, which also runs the annual Paris-Photo art fair, planned to bring the London show back in 2009. While more attendees had registered for the 2008 show than had for the 2007 show, U.S. economic troubles led to only one American gallery signing up.

The London Intl. Music Show will debut June 12-15 at ExCel London. It comprises four collocated shows: The London Guitar Show, Drummer Live, Sound Recording Technology and the Unplugged Music Show. Organized by MB Media of Ely, England, the event will feature exhibits from more than 300 musical instrument manufacturers and distributors.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council will organize the first Hong Kong Intl. Wine Expo Aug. 14-16 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. With its proximity to the Chinese mainland and a new wine duty exemption, Hong Kong is set to become a prime location for the international wine industry to promote wine to mainland China, according to the TDC.

n Organizer Survey of Bielefeld, Germany, is moving its OW in Shanghai, a business event for furniture components and suppliers, from the Shanghai New Intl. Expo Center to the JSWB Global Home Furnishings Center. The JSWB is a Shanghai exhibition center that includes permanent furniture showrooms. OW in Shanghai will collocate Sept. 11-15 with the Intl. Sourcing Fair and Furniture China.

In order to avoid a date conflict with the Tokyo Games Show, Leipziger Messe Intl. will produce its Games Convention Asia Sept. 18-20 at the Suntec Intl. Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore, instead of in October as previously planned. The GCA show will collocate with the Games Convention Asia Conference.

In cooperation with the German Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency, Messe Frankfurt will launch the NUTEC Intl. Congress & Exhibition Nov. 12-14 at the Exhibition Grounds in Frankfurt, Germany. The show - whose name is an acronym for nutrients, upcycling, triple topline, effectiveness and community - will feature products and materials that are healthy for humans and the environment, combine functionality and aesthetics, are produced responsibly and are economically successful.

Messe Frankfurt and Ipex of Bangkok will jointly launch the Intersec Thailand tradeshow for the security and safety industries Dec. 1-3 at the Bangkok Intl. Trade & Exhibition Centre. Exhibitors will offer products and services for dealing with commercial security, natural disasters, national security, public safety and information technology security. The event will also include the new Intersec Intl. Conference.

CMP Intl. UAE will launch Middle East Amusements, Attractions, Parks, Leisure and Entertainment at the Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Natl. Exhibition Centre in February. The tradeshow for those in the development, operation management and maintenance of Middle Eastern parks and attractions will compete with the Intl. Expo Consults' DEAL show, scheduled April 20-22 at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, U.A.E., and will likely take place around the same dates in 2009. CMP Intl., based in the United Kingdom, also runs Leisure Industry Week in Birmingham, England.

German trade association Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware is moving the Games Convention for the interactive entertainment industry from Leipzig Messe, in Leipzig, Germany, to Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. It will be renamed GamesCom and held annually starting with the Sept. 9-13, 2009, show. BIU's Olaf Wolters said Leipzig Messe has successfully managed the show, but the organization wanted to internationalize the event further.