Open Air Business August/September 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS
Showman’s Show 2018
With sustainability firmly on the agenda, the Showman’s Show 2018 is practising what it
preaches with some green initiatives of its own
A FIRM fixture in the outdoor
and special event calendar
for more than 30 years, the
Showman’s Show will return to
Newbury Showground on 17-18
October. With an impressive
array of products and services
on display, and initiatives that
encourage and promote best
practice, the show remains a
must attend for any serious
event professional.
This year’s Showman’s
Show is shaping up to deliver
in the region of 350 exhibitors,
showcasing everything from
state-of-the-art structures,
plant and hire equipment, to
entertainment and finishing
touches.
In keeping with the industry’s
current focus on reducing
the environmental impact of
events and festivals, organiser
Lance Show & Publications is
taking its own responsibilities
seriously. It has embarked on
a series of initiatives to reduce
the show’s carbon footprint and
promote sustainability to the
wider event industry.
This includes signing up to
Energy Revolution as a supplier
member; the company will
offset the CO2 emissions from
its travel with direct investment
in clean renewable energy.
In addition, the Showman’s
Show will also be encouraging
visitors and exhibitors to make
use of the GoCarShare scheme
that it introduced back in
2017. Popular with festival and
sporting event goers who find
that the service, where drivers
link up with passengers, with
the latter paying a contribution
to the trip, is a great way to be
kind to the environment and
take the hassle out of travelling.
A Vision:2025 hosted event
will also make a welcome
return to the showground
on Wednesday 17 October.
The afternoon event will be
a chance for the Vision:2025
festival teams to share ideas
and learn more about the new
suppliers, organisations and
communities that are helping
the industry move towards
more sustainable practices.
The event will highlight
the power of collaboration
and what can be achieved
when festivals and suppliers
work together, with updates
on industry initiatives, latest
research, presentations, panels,
Q&As, roundtable sessions,
and a chance to continue the
conversation over an ethicallybrewed
beer at the networking
drinks! This year the Vision:2025
programme will also include
a live judging panel for the
Showman’s Show 2018 Green
Supplier Award.
Reducing single-use plastic
is a key consideration for
event and festival organisers.
The RAW Foundation has
published a ‘Guide to Reusable
Bar Cups at Events’ with the
core message of the campaign
‘re-use not single use’. It is
working across the event
industry to inspire change
toward a ‘pointless plastic
free’ world and will present a
new conference at the show on
Thursday 18 October.
Lance Show & Publications
is encouraging all contractors,
exhibitors and visitors to bring
along their own re-usable water
bottles and cups and is looking
to remove one off plastic water
bottles from its own catering
outlets wherever possible.
OAB’S TOP PICKS
JR Event Services – Stand 20
JR Event Services was formed in 2009 by John Radford after
working within the event industry for the previous 15 years.
The company was founded with an overriding aim of taking
a client’s vision and turning it into reality, advising, assisting,
communicating and collaborating to achieve the desired
outcome.
Over the last eight years JR Event Services has developed
a team of permanent and associate staff who can be brought
together to ensure that the skills presented are those required
to fulfil the project aims. www.jreventservices.co.uk
GigLoo – Stand 179
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UK designers and manufacturers, Gigloo’s range of event toilets
and showers are available for hire or sale. Billed as ‘tough, green
and easy to clean’, toilets carry a 10 year body warranty and
feature a one piece copolymer body so the walls and floors will
never rot.
Smart and functional, these loos and showers look clean
and inviting. The range includes units of all sizes perfect for
everything from weddings and garden parties up to large public
events and everything inbetween, including the Easy Access
toilet pod and shower pod, which have been endorsed by leading
accessibility charity Attitude is Everything. www.getgigloo.co.uk
WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 17