Early on there were signs that the Lester style was at odds with the English trade and Olympia traditions, and there was widespread scepticism of his attempt to make this broadly-based showcase of the British trade an international, upmarket extravaganza. Lester found it difficult to sell stands and ended up with 165, far short of his initial target. Everyone agreed the fair looked very good, but the combination of massively hiked stand rents, a levy which did not result in productive marketing, and the last-minute distribution of cut-price stands to Palm Beach regulars, incensed dealers who had paid in full, some of them forced into three-year contracts.

Many exhibitors lost money this summer (luckily not us) and are smarting because of it, the general consensus amongst these dealers is that they do not want to exhibit under a fair organised by Mr Lester. Clarion's decision to now bring the fair again firmly under British management will be good news to many UK regulars, who despite being impressed with the look of the fair, were not impressed with the footfall and under the counter wheeling and dealing that was going on just before opening. We will have to see what happens next year.