New Boat Show in February 2022 at the NEC Birmingham

[colind3782]

Public Transport? Eeew! So many "people"!

Living out in the sticks, public transport seems to be an endangered species and I haven't used such for as long as I can remember! When London adopts the ULEZ in October I'll have to consider it if I want to visit my brother on the Isle of Dogs.

 

[RichardS]

I only live just down the road so I might go just for the craic.

Richard

 

[colind3782]

I only live just down the road so I might go just for the craic.

Richard

Me too

 

[bendyone]

I just noticed the preceding bit:


So that's 1/10th the size of Boot and 1/3rd the size of Southampton. The attractiveness of a train trip to Birmingham is diminishing.

But all indoors so not dependant on the weather.

 

[st599]

But all indoors so not dependant on the weather.

Boot is all indoors too.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

There probably won't be anything that won't go under a motorway bridge on a low loader.

Correct! The doors for exhibitors at the NEC are that height!

 

[pvb]

So we can expect 35% canal boats & BBQ equipment with a sprinkling of plastic chairs & umbrellas with pineapples painted on them
Then by the time 10% is made up of paddle boards & wetsuit supplies, another 25% of Sunseeker et allia we can have the rest filled with expensive RIBS that no one wants, one chandler taking a risky punt & possible a few sailing clothes stands ( look for the dolly birds). Raymarine & Co. selling electronics, with staff who do not have a clue what the stuff does, other than make pretty pictures on a screen. ( Seems to attract the punters though )

I reckon that's a good summary of what to expect.

 

[flaming]

Travel to the show and back in a day (for most visitors) or book a flight and a hotel room in the EU at a far greater cost in time and money? If not looking for a new boat, then I doubt many will choose Boot over NEC. If we really think about who visits a boat show, only a very small percentage will be actively looking to buy a boat. Most of us like looking at new boats, possibly considering them a potential purchase in the future when they start entering the secondhand market. Generally most boat owners are looking at equipment for updating their current boats. Doing this at Boot would be expensive and probably have exactly the same main suppliers, but with the added difference of no longer being part of the same free trade area.

If that is a valid argument for a show in Birmingham attracting enough punters to survive, it was also a valid argument for the same being true in London....

 

[johnalison]

If that is a valid argument for a show in Birmingham attracting enough punters to survive, it was also a valid argument for the same being true in London....

The number of people able to get to a London show and home again with a journey time of an hour to two hours each way is much higher for London than Birmingham. We could get from Essex to Southhampton and back fairly comfortably for the show but Birmingham and back would be a trial, and more so for those south of London. Even if technically similar, the journey to Birmingham means overcoming a psychological step.

 

[JumbleDuck]

There probably won't be anything that won't go under a motorway bridge on a low loader.

The NEC has been suggested as an alternative to Excel before, and gin palace access was always cited as the killer.

 

[Caraway]

The attractiveness of a train trip to Birmingham is diminishing.

Did it ever exist?

 

[Bru]

The NEC has been suggested as an alternative to Excel before, and gin palace access was always cited as the killer.

In the days when Excel had a lot of boats in the water, maybe but in its dying days it didn't and the NEC could accommodate anything Excel can in the halls

This proposed show however appears to be using three of the smaller halls (and NEC has quite a lot of halls which can be configured as separate spaces or opened up) since the quoted maximum boat size is 45 foot (full size 70 foot narrowboats have been displayed there in the past)

The reality is that this show won't be about boats that most of us on here are interested in. It'll be PWCs, speedboats and maybe some sailing dingies but mostly it'll be about selling stuff that has nothing to do with boats at all

I doubt I'll bother going even though it's an easy journey from home

 

[grumpy_o_g]

I really miss Beale Park boat show. It was a fun event and showcased all sorts of craft skills and niche products - the stuff the UK tends to be really good at. If it has that of vibe but indoors It would be worth going to.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Should be well supported. What's it like up north ?

Birmingham isn't North - Midlands at best! North starts at Sheffield!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Some years ago - probably 2007 or 2008 - I went to an exhibition at the NEC with a substantial boaty content (I forget its exact title). The boats were mainly inland waterways or small-craft but I wasn't interested in looking at boats - I went for the chandlery and other stuff. My brother and his family and I had a good day out.

The NEC is actually a great resource. It has acres of car parking; realistically, they expect visitors to arrive by car. I've been to quite a few trade shows there, and they were always well done in a light and airy hall. It's very accessible by car - smack on the M6, so excellent communications with pretty much everywhere.

 

[Bru]

The NEC is a far better facility than Excel ... by a country mile. It's considerably bigger, far more flexible, has vast car parking (as already mentioned), excellent road and rail links and in truth is easier (much easier) and quicker for the vast majority of people to get to

For a boat show it lacks only one thing ... decent water space (although one of the lakes, primarily ornamental, has been used for small stuff in the past)

 

[lustyd]

I've never considered water to be necessary for boat shows. It's nice at Southampton to have some activities available but realistically so few of the attendees can take part in those it makes very little difference. For looking at a boat I don't really mind whether it's in water or on a stand, both have their advantages.

100% agree on the travel. I am "25 minutes from London" by train. Excel is 2 hours travel for me, and it's the horrid kind of travel with lots of changes, crowds and mucking about and very expensive. NEC is an hour and a half in a nice air conditioned car, or a train ride with a single easy change.

 

[Bru]

I've never considered water to be necessary for boat shows. It's nice at Southampton to have some activities available but realistically so few of the attendees can take part in those it makes very little difference. For looking at a boat I don't really mind whether it's in water or on a stand, both have their advantages

As far as yachts and motorboats are concerned, it's more to do with getting them there and back

Southampton benefits tremendously from the huge number of boats that get there under their own steam (or sail). And yachts always look better with their rig on.

 

[lustyd]

Yes I do agree that the little show masts don't look good, although arguably Southampton also has more boats on cradles than London did, and that's in addition to the ones on the water!

 

[Bru]

Yes I do agree that the little show masts don't look good, although arguably Southampton also has more boats on cradles than London did, and that's in addition to the ones on the water!

Southampton is (was) an infinitely better show. I always felt Excel's biggest mistake was not making full use of the water space (it could and should have been better than Earl's Court and never was IMO)

NEC could host an excellent boat show but this new show won't be that