MELBOURNE, AU—Australian health, sexuality and lifestyle convention Sexpo is looking to return to the UK in 2018, but according to reports, the company is meeting with resistance from ExCeL London, an exhibitions and international convention center in Custom House, London Borough of Newham. Moreover, Sexpo's letters to the London Chamber of Commerce seeking to join the Chamber have gone unanswered.
In response to that lack of cooperation, Sexpo has started a petition at Change.org, which Sexpo's organizers are asking Londoners to sign, as well as follow their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts so that Sexpo can demonstrate to all venues, as well as the London Chamber of Commerce, the level of public support for Sexpo. (Those wishing real time updates on the controversy may get them by joining Sexpo's mailing list.)
In November 2015, the first London Sexpo was staged. Public transportation combined with the terrible event that transpired in Paris the same week meant that 40% of those who had pre-purchased tickets online failed to make it to the event. Only 30% of tickets were pre-purchased online, and Sexpo estimates up to 40,000 Londoners would have attended that first event.
“We now hope to return to London in a large venue that can accommodate the sort of numbers we expect,” said Australian Founding Organizer David Ross. “Big numbers mean big business and require a big venue. We have always sought to use only purpose-built exhibition venues to reinforce the mainstream nature of our events. So, after approaching the ExCeL venue, we were disappointed by the arbitrary dismissal of our approach. Additionally, we sought membership at the London Chamber of Commerce, but they couldn’t help us and our emails have gone unanswered. Clearly, the London Chamber of Commerce has no interest in sex at all,” he charged.
Sexpo is a million-pound show with more than 90 Sexpo events have been staged around the world since 1996, so by almost any measure, Sexpo is big business. The large budget requires the organizers to attract tens of thousands of attendees to cover the costs. All marketing and promotions are very mainstream and designed not to cause contention or court controversy.
“There are various adult type exhibitions around the world, including some previously held in London, but none have used the focus on ‘lifestyle’ to successfully win over the media and public in the way Sexpo does,” continued Ross. “This focus ensures our attendance numbers are far better than any competing event with more than 50% of attendees being female. We’re hoping this Change.org petition will change the tides in our favor and Londoners will demand the return of our show.”
Sexpo is one of the world’s largest and longest running health, sexuality and (adult) lifestyle exhibitions that has operated out of six states in Australia since 1996, has run under a licensee in South Africa since 2007, and had their first London event in 2015. All adult lifestyles, genders and sexual orientations are represented and welcomed at Sexpo, and more than 250,000 people attend around the world each year.
All business inquiries about Sexpo should be sent to David Ross at [email protected].
