The decision to return the Plasa to London’s Olympia has been declared a great move by its organiser. ‘There was an amazing atmosphere in Olympia during the three days of the show,’ says Plasa Director of Events, Christopher Toulmin. ‘The vibe was right, the quality of visitors was high and business was being done… the very definition of a great show.’

Attendance was repoted to be strong across all three days of the event, with 60 per cent registering as final decision makers and specifiers. Exhibitors also reported an increase in international visitors, further validating the decision to move the event back to West London. ‘We were delighted to welcome new brands to the show floor including Adamson, DAS Audio, EM Acoustics, Audio Technica, SFL, Shermann Audio, Roland UK, plus XTA, d&b audiotechnik, SSL, Focusrite and Bel Digital who took part in our first one-day Dante Training Workshop,’ Toulmin  says. ‘We also saw the return of Clay Paky, Chauvet, Elation, Leisuretec, GLP, Robe, Area 4 Industries, Robert Juliat, SSE and we were especially pleased to welcome back Philips to the show floor.’

Plasa saw an increase in representation from audio manufacturers, either exhibiting in their own right, or in partnership with their dealers and distributors. The seminar programme included audio sessions such as Pin the Mic on the Actor, A/V Installation Strategy for Venue Owners and Beyond Surround – immersive sound techniques; and educational events included Audinate’s Dante Training Programme and
Merlijn Van Veen’s Low Frequency Control primer, 

‘Plasa needs people from the audio industry to get behind it,’ says SFL MD Tom Jeffery, a first-time exhibitor at the show following the company’s appointment as a d&b audiotechnik sales partner. ‘We’re going through a change in our industry. Plasa needed to adapt and I think that process has started. We’ve known Plasa’s new managing director Peter Heath for a long time through Roland and it’s great to have that fresh blood coming in. 

For loudspeaker manufacturer Adamson to, presence at the show was prompted by the appointment of a UK distributor. ‘Historically, we didn’t have a distributor in the UK,’ says Adamson European sales manager, Jasper Ravesteijn. ‘Recently we found a very good one in The Warehouse Sound, who are exclusively selling our products in the UK. Our growth is very natural, but very fast, particularly within Europe so it’s a logical thing to be here and support our new distributor and to maximise the support we want to offer in the UK.’

‘We’re here to support our dealers,’ says d&b audiotechnik’s Gianni Abruzzese. ‘It’s ideal for us to partner with them here and means that our customers don’t need to search out the companies that they can buy from, or who can work with them on their projects once they’ve seen us.’

‘It’s probably the area in the UK where we see the most opportunity for us to increase our market share,’ says SSE’s Alex Penn. ‘From a customer perspective, it’s much better to be speaking to service companies such as SSE Audio Group/Wigwam. That way they’re liaising directly with the people that will be supplying them with both products and services. As we represent a range of different manufacturers, we’re perfectly placed to do that.’

‘As the UK is a key market for us, it’s important for us to be present at Plasa and we’re very pleased to be a part of the SSE stand again,’ says L-Acoustics’ Mary Beth Henson. ‘The new location in the heart of London seems to have energised the show and we are especially heartened that Plasa is working to expand the audio content.’

Tim Shaxson from digital mixing console manufacturer, DiGiCo, adds: ‘We were represented by the SSE Audio Group and Autograph, who both has the new DiGiCo S31 on their stands and are showing our Stealth Core 2 software on the SD Series consoles. As the manufacturer, it’s good to be supporting our UK dealers. Both SSE and Autograph have done a great job in representing us here.’

‘In these three days at the show, I get to see around 60 percent of my clients,’ says Autograph’s Peppe Mallozzi. ‘It would take me a year to go round and see all those people otherwise. We’re very pro Plasa.’

Plasa’s free-to-attend seminar programme remains a key element of the show, and featured presentations by Durham Marenghi on lighting the Olympic ceremonies in Rio as well as a Production Masterclass from Ola Melzig and Fredrik Jönsson on Eurovision 2016. This year’s show also featured the seventh edition of the Rigging Conference and hands-on console training opportunities.

A new feature alongside The Innovation Gallery was The Eploratorium, an experiential maze curated and produced by Darryn De La Soul of Soulsound. This featured experiments created by manufacturers and leading educational establishments – loudspeaker manufacturers d&b audiotechnik and Funktion-One among them – culminating in an interactive art installation by Iris Musel that explored the notion of visual and sound perception in relation to dementia. It attacted more than 1,400 people.

‘Well, it seems like the Plasa Show has got its mojo back,’ says Jonathan Walters from AC-ET. ‘It was an excellent show for us. Very, very busy, a lot more international leads than expected, a lot of key players visiting and a real buzz throughout the hall.’

‘We were constantly busy and had great interest from the theatre community and we were particularly pleased to see so many of the up and coming engineers involved,’ reports EM Acoustics’ Dave Kelland. ‘Plasa 2016 is one of the best trade shows we’ve ever done. In fact, it was so good I didn’t want to leave.’

‘I was very pleased with this year’s edition of the Plasa show,’ adds Ola Melzig from M&M Production Management, who co-hosted the Eurovision 2016 seminar. ‘Moving it back to central London was a great decision and it feels like the heart and soul of the show is back. I’m already looking forward to 2017. Congratulations to the whole Plasa team for a job well done.’

The 2017 show will be held in Olympia, 17-19 September.

More: www.plasashow.com