Sunday Jan 25, 2004

In February, Hotelympia will be moving to a new venue - ExCeL London and moving into the future. The move has enabled the show organisers to re-create a 79-year-old event to mirror the industry it serves, allowing it to 'move on' in more ways than one.

Hotelympia has been re-branded quite radically this year and many of the historic features have been re-designed. It is still keeping its strong industry heritage and existing successful components, but it is bringing the show up-to-date by adding innovative and new elements. The new attractions that have been added include - Bar Scene, Design Link, Grab 'n' Go and the New Product Awards.

Says Claire Finch, Exhibition Director, Fresh RM: "For 69 years Hotelympia has served the industry successfully, currently attracting 1000 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors from across the broad spectrum of the hospitality industry. However, the need to constantly evolve is an essential ingredient to the success of any exhibition. The move to the state-of-the-art venue, ExCeL London, has allowed us to develop new concepts, which reflect the industry as it stands today whilst continuing to retain the heritage that has contributed to making it a world-class event. We are confident regular visitors will find the changes inspirational and that new visitors will attend to see the show in its new format, thus ensuring the event continues to bring a strong return on investment for our exhibitors."

BallArena, a charity ball that brings the whole industry together, as one voice, to create the most spectacular event ever staged is also being held during Hotelympia, with 1,500 guests expected to attend.

Says ExCeL London Chief Executive, Jamie Buchan: "Staging Europe's most important business event for the foodservice and hospitality industry is a big honour for ExCeL London and once again proves that we can stage some of the most influential and spectacular events in the industry and help them thrive and grow. Hotelympia is another show which is also looking to be a sell out and huge success."

For more information, please contact Gemma Parkhouse at ExCeL London on 020 7069 4739 or email gemmaparkhouse@ExCeL-london.co.uk