THE MORE INTENSE THE EXPERIENCETHE MORE PRECIOUS THE MEMORYWhere you see it, is how you see it. Here you see everything at its most beautiful, your experience is intense. Whether it's a gala diner, a party, an exhibition, a presentation, an awards ceremony or a convention, our enormous ballroom with spellbinding LED lighting will make it an unforgettable experience. With our panoramic views and delicious catering, the RAI Elicium also adds unprecedented allure and elegance to all your meetings and trainings. Sustainability comes first! For example our hypermodern renewable energy system stores excess heat and cold in the floors for later use. Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre | raimarketing@rai.nl | +31 20 549 17 22 | www.rai.nlI'd love to give you a tour at www.rai-elicium.nl

WELCOMEwww.exhibition-world.net Issue 8 | 20115 EDITORIALMANAGING EDITORNadia Cameronncameron@mashmedia.netEDITORAntony Reeve-Crookarc@mashmedia.netSENIOR REPORTERMike TrudeauDIGITALONLINE EDITORSarah O'Donnellsarah@mashmedia.netSALESADVERTISING MANAGERCraig Nickeas cnickeas@mashmedia.net PUBLISHER Liz AgostiniPRODUCTION AND DESIGNPRODUCTION MANAGER Luke SpaldingDESIGNSarah GarlandPRODUCTION ASSISTANTJulia BallCONTACT USSUBSCRIPTIONS020 8971 8269EDITORIAL020 8971 8292SALES020 8971 8265PRODUCTION020 8971 8272Exhibition World is published by Mash Media, 4th Floor, Sterling House, 6-10 St Georges Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 4DP. tel: +44 (0)20 8971 8292fax: +44 (0)20 8971 8283email: info@mashmedia.netUFI: Lili Eigl email: lili@ufi .org tel: +33 (0) 1 42 67 99 12Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publishers.Printed by Pensord Press Ltd.The contents of my inbox made for much easier morning reading in August. Gone were the tales of loss, postponement and downturn I'd grown accustomed to and in their place came news of acquisitions, launches or spikes in attendance at shows I'm even now surprised to hear still exist. The months of austerity, it seemed, had been brought to a close for many of us and we headed into the second half of the year with a skip in our step. M&A activity was sparking again as offers included more reasonable multiples, and those of us in countries where the government holds the keys to the venues began seeing increased support from the public sector. Organiser confi dence was climbing and portfolios were being built up or streamlined into shape.However no sooner had we all returned to the table than the familiar whispers of concern began to circulate. Ongoing fi nancial fragility and blanket media coverage of national downgrades by credit rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's was tainting the feast.The United States' fi nancial dependence on its two largest borrowers China and Japan and their subsequent sensitivity to wobbles in the federal budget, coupled with uncertainty in oil and energy provision resulting from the Arab Spring and the widening schism in the Eurozone, had many economists battening down the hatches.But the industry was not about to be caught fl at-footed a second time. Concerted efforts were made to take control of our own destiny.Look at the associations. With a 120-page Delphi Study being unveiled at its 78th annual congress in Valencia, UFI is providing expert opinion from the regions and roles that comprise our industry in an effort to predict the shape of the international exhibition industry in 2020.In the US, exhibition companies Freeman, Gaylord Entertainment, the ASAE Foundation, Exhibition Industry Foundation and PCMA Education Foundation have united to fund their own initiative. The Future Meet project, being conducted in collaboration with Insight Labs and Manifest Digital, hopes to draw a new model for future exhibitions and trade events within the context of widespread digital media. The old model, the group claims, expired with the advent of the Internet and digital social media. It's a subject continued in one of the more unconventional interviews we've run in this magazine, with the celebrated theoretical physicist and futurologist Michio Kaku looking beyond existing technologies to explain how emerging technologies will impact exhibitions. Of course prediction alone won't nourish us if economic downturn again drains the water from the well. Action needs to be taken to promote the effi cacy of our medium. Which is why we've highlighted the efforts of CBBS, CEFA and Centrex in their campaign to bring more SMEs into eastern Europe's exhibition fold. I look forward to more examples of your enterprise at UFI's congress in Valencia.EDITOR ANTONY REEVE-CROOK arc@mashmedia.netTwitter: ExhibitionWorldAntony Reeve-CrookTHE INDUSTRY WON'T BE LEFT FLAT-FOOTED A SECOND TIME