The exhibition industry was left disappointed this week with the announcement that the scheduled Your Child Expo - set to take place in Cape Town at the end of this month - has been cancelled. Egg Marketing, organiser of the event, sent exhibitors and sponsors a notification that the company was no longer able to host the inaugural show and in fact had declared voluntary liquidation.

As newly appointed EXSA Chair, Natalie Naude said yesterday that this comes as a shock, as on all fronts it seemed as if this Expo had much potential.

In a move to cushion the blow felt by exhibitors and indeed to secure and entrench a strong and successful exhibition aimed at the seven- to twelve-year-old market, Three City Events, organiser of the extremely successful SABC Education Baba Indaba and now pioneering its first Kids Indaba, entered into discussions with Egg Marketing concerning its committed exhibitors and sponsors.

The Three City Events' Kids Indaba concept is being launched alongside the Durban SABC Education Baba Indaba from 19 to 22 March, with a national roll-out of their new Expo following at four other cities during the year.

As Kids Indaba’s Show Director, Natalie Naude commented, “We have put an offer on the table for Egg’s exhibitors, which we will honour in trying to accommodate them into our expos as best as possible. It is a very sad day in the industry when something like this happens, and the resultant negativity is a pity for the organiser and of course for all in the industry who work exceptionally hard over many years to produce world-class exhibitions, benefitting both exhibitors and visitors. This move is about salvaging what we can for the people that make our industry work – our clients, the exhibitors.”

Sue Gannon, GM of EXSA, said that Egg Marketing was a new member of the Association and that in the light of this happening it is seen as a bad reflection on the exhibition and events industry. EXSA is actively looking into ways to protect the exhibitor via possibly making sure organisers have to take out insurance similar to Estate Agents, to protect their clients. “The Association is there to protect its members, as well as the exhibitors and visitors to our exhibitions and events, and with this year being so important for South Africa to shine with the world’s eyes looking at us, professional business practice is this industry is key.” says Sue.

For further information, please contact:
Sue Gannon, EXSA: [email protected] or 011 805 7272.