I'm not sure what hype is being referred to and I'd agree that it is difficult to know how good it's going to be.
I posted something on another forum about this show and I've pasted it (slightly amended) below...
I'm really hoping this show works, and not because we are there (although we will be) but because this is a genuine attempt to (in popular parlance) 're-boot' shows and get them back to the way they used to be; in their heyday every respectable supplier/manufacturer would attend shows, enjoy them and feel unable to not be there.
Visitors too would come along and have a full day out, often not having enough time to see everything in one day.
There are still a couple of shows like that left, but not many. Not enough. I heard one comment once from someone who went to a show and having paid their admission fee felt like they'd been mugged when they saw what was on offer.
The Spalding show is a start on the road to recovery.
To be honest, many exhibitors are jaded by the experience of bad shows and uptake for this new show has been slow but Bill and his team are working hard to make this a show worth going to, and if it is well supported another will be held next year and more exhibitors will be willing to attend. Shows like this take a few years to become established; if you're fed up of attending shows and being disappointed give this one a go and help it grow and flourish into the sort of show we all want to see again.
