1 EIA established – A pan-industry body that will lobby government and spread the good news about exhibitions to a wider audience. Long overdue although some observers point to previous attempts to do the same thing that met with limited success

2 EVA joins AEV – With the venues now under the AEV it now leaves only BECA outside the EIA family

3 Morris resigns – Andrew Morris left his post as NEC group chief executive after 18 months in the job. Step forward Paul Thandi who ended the speculation and got the go-ahead. He immediately reviewed the admin charge, another case of big firms having to listen to their customers

4 AEO conference – Taking place over only one day won many plaudits as did the theme of looking to the future

5 London Motor Show – A much-praised return to the capital for an old favourite. Excel was a fine venue and the organisers are looking forward to building on the good start.

6 London Book Fair – A wake up call for organisers everywhere who may have underestimated ‘exhibitor power’

7 The Big Survey – Simon Burton and Sarah Farrugia’s exhaustive survey revealed some excellent news about the work we do

8 Different events – A number of organisers ran successful events that differ remarkably from the traditional exhibition model, a breath of fresh air…but…

9 …Events v exhibitions – a growing number of organisers are calling their shows ‘events’. A good idea or is it dangerous to lose the term ‘exhibition’ totally?

10 Melville Christmas Party – Still to come but the welcome annual do will doubtless be a fitting end to the year

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