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Organisers blame Brexit for cancelling Kent Vision Live Extra shows

01:00, 03 August 2016

updated: 08:40, 03 August 2016

Two business exhibitions have been cancelled with organisers blaming slow bookings on the uncertainty caused by Brexit.

Kent Vision Live Extra, which includes separate start-up and marketing shows, will no longer go ahead in October at the Kent Event Centre in Detling.

Revolution Events, which runs the exhibitions as a spin off of its Kent Vision Live event in May, said its prime time for bookings “has been disrupted most significantly by the recent Brexit referendum and its aftermath”.

Kent Vision Live is the largest regional business exhibition in the UK
Kent Vision Live is the largest regional business exhibition in the UK

The start-up and marketing exhibitiions were launched in 2012 and 2013 respectively but the company will now focus its energy on creating a “larger and more comprehensive event” in May next year.

Richard Tribe, joint-managing director of Pembury-based Revolution Events, said: “Having run the start-up and marketing events for several years, we are obviously disappointed that economic circumstances have now conspired against us.

“We have always taken a highly consultative approach to these events and would be daft to ignore the change in mood amongst our exhibitors, who are starting to feel that the market is rather overcrowded and would clearly prefer us to concentrate our resources on making ‘the big one’ as successful as possible – mainly so that they can benefit from the greater critical mass and market recognition provided by a single annual one-stop-shop.”

Mr Tribe added the best elements of the Autumn spin-off shows have already been introduced to the May event and said they plan to change 20% to 30% of the event format every year.

Kent Vision Live will have a programme of speakers
Kent Vision Live will have a programme of speakers

Over the past 11 years, the May version of Kent Vision Live has become the largest regional business event in the UK, attracting more than 300 exhibitors and over 3,000 attendees each year.

It is run as a collaboration between Revolution Events, Kent County Council, KM Group and the Kent Event Centre.

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