Some thoughts on the weekend from a traders perspective. There were clearly some major issues that caused problems and disappointment for many - I dont think you can simply blame the huge numbers of people expecting to just turn up and get a ticket on the day, there have never been any problems doing so in the past. Yes, it was clear to any sensible person that this year there was a likelihood of it selling out and that pre-buying a ticket was a good option but I think Showmasters could have done a lot more to warn people that entry on the day couldnt be guaranteed - they claim themselves that they were shocked and surprised that capacity was reached which seems a little strange given the volume of presales. They also gave the impression that there would be plenty of tickets available on the day so in fact encouraged people without tickets to attend. This was clearly a mistake. Conditions inside EC2 were almost intolerable, it was hotter last year, and almost as busy on the Saturday yet things werent nearly so bad, so there was clearly an issue with the air cooling (not full air conditioning as the venue doesnt have any) - this was only exasperated by the issue with then not being able to get back in if you needed to leave for some fresh air on the Saturday afternoon. It may be simply the combination of the queues, disappointment and heat and airless hall, but the usual LFCC fun and friendly atmosphere simply didnt exist on the Saturday, it was barely noticeable on the Sunday either. Most of the traders around us on the Saturday all described it the same, it was just weird - it just didnt feel like LFCC You cant begrudge Showmasters wanting to make things bigger and better and you do have to give them a chance to make some mistakes and put things right but you do hope that they havent killed what it was that made LFCC special when compared against similar events. Usually on the Monday after LFCC Im feeling severe post con blues, this time around Im just exhausted and glad Im home - though it was incredibly busy, there were far fewer people actually looking at stalls and spending money, something I know that traders were concerned about with so many expensive guests to spend money on signatures and photos, it was, just about, still a good weekend, but with enough problems and issues that were going to have to think hard about whether we take a stall at future events
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:38:06 +0000
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