Traditionally this is the time of the year when the skies are grey and London is brightened up by the Boat Show at Earls Court. Nothing has changed in that respect, and now sponsored by Schroders, the show runs until next Sunday, 12 January. However the 49th show is the last Boat Show to be held in the famous old 1930”s concrete mausoleum. It is goodbye to the Olympic size indoor pool and hello to whatever January in East London brings in terms of weather in 2004. Next year”s show will be partly outdoors, centred around the Royal Victoria Dock. Craft of up to 70 feet in length can be displayed at the present venue, size dictated by the hall and just what the London streets can accommodate. A large Princess or Fairline ocean going motor yacht on display indoors can be pretty impressive but in terms of what the companies can actually produce these boats are considered small. Next year if it can get through the lock at the end of the King George V Dock (and the mighty Cunarder ss Mauritania did many years ago) it can berth next to the Excel complex. No more taking the potential buyer down to the Thames to inspect the craft. In 2004 it will actually be berthed on the site.
The Schroders Boat Show 2003 is pretty impressive. It cover 14.1 acres and close on 200,000 people are expected to visit the complex by the end of the week. This year the indoor pool and presentation is sponsored by the Turkish Tourist Board and displays 19 boats. With 600 exhibitors the show appeals to all those involved with water borne activities, ranging from the luxury cruisers, to the inflatable dinghies, in fact the smaller boats themselves sometimes accessories for the massive floating palaces with price tags of well over ”1m.
What makes the show special is not the large glamour yachts, but the sheer depth of what is on display, ranging from specialist clothing, deck equipment and navigational aids, to maps and expert advice on virtually any aspect of seaborne sporting activities. Plus boats of every size and use that can be accommodated within the complex. To make it easy the Earls Court venue is laid out in such a way that each speciality is grouped in an area; typically charter and hire is in one corner, galley equipment all on the second floor, and water borne holidays grouped together on the ground floor. All the really big vessels are in Earls Court 2, the extension at the back of the main hall. The main socialising venue is not a boat at all. It is the massive Guinness Bar, which in 2002 consumed 57,000 pints of the thick Irish brew.
Whilst the London Boat Show attracts considerable overseas interest and participation, it is very much a showcase for the British leisure marine industry. Figures published show that for the fourth consecutive year revenues increased in 2002, by 8.4%, to a predicted ”1.74bn. Exports rose by 10% to ”722.5m. Despite recessionary fears in the United States, business in this crucial marine market went up by a similar rate to ”174.5m.
The 2004 show at Excel already looks like being a success. The whole event has been put back one week with preview day Thursday, 8 January 2004. In one respect the organisers have learnt nothing from minor mistakes at World Travel Market. In the pre-show publicity the Silverlink/north London rail service does not even gain a mention. A pity indeed as for many people it makes for easy access to the Royal Docks.
http://www.londonboatshow.com