At a meeting of exhibitors and would-be exhibitors held today at the Olympic Studios, London, the dates for The Indulgence Show 2017 were announced as 29 September – 1 October.

Following the success of the inaugural Indulgence Show, held at Novotel London West in October 2016, the show organisers invited guests to a meeting to revisit, review and respond to the show and re-book for the 2017 event. Such was the success of the venue for the first audio show for 10 years to be held in central London, that The Indulgence Show will return to the Novotel London West, one of the capital’s premier conference centres. In keeping with the musical theme of the show, Olympic Studios, venue of the recording of much of the world’s seminal music, was chosen as an appropriate location to host the meeting. Vernon Hamblin, show organiser, and Phil Hansen, representing Ash Communications, the show’s marketing partner, presented a review of the 2016 event. The 70- strong audience, packed into the exclusive cinema that now occupies part of the original studio complex, were invited to give their constructive feedback on the first show.

Outline plans for the 2017 show were presented and discussed, with the organisers very keen to hear the exhibitors’ observations and additional requirements which will aim to be encompassed into the second Indulgence Show. Vernon Hamblin and Amit Patel, the founders of The Indulgence Show, are very keen to present the event as a show for the industry, by the industry, free from hidden agendas and very much in line with the event the UK hifi industry has repeatedly been asking for. The event will continue its ‘three shows in one’ format, with Audio London, headroom and Pure Pleasure operating under the umbrella brand of The Indulgence Show. Each section will be further developed to build upon the 170 brands and 135 exhibitors who presented the latest in hifi at Audio London, portable audio at headroom, and lifestyle indulgences within Pure Pleasure.

Music will once again be a strong element of the show, with live music from several artists performing during the daytime opening hours and after hours at public concerts and the private exhibitor party. During 2016, The Marquee Club was relaunched as a live venue on the Friday night, the exhibitors were treated to a night of big band music from The Vince Dunn Orchestra and numerous other live bands, and string quartets and street buskers brought the halls and corridors alive to the sound of live music. The opportunity for visitors to try their own hand at music making, this year courtesy of Yamaha Music, will be back in 2017.

Among the many attractions, the seminars and exhibitions were enthusiastically received by the visitors and will return in 2017, even bigger and better. Already confirmed is a much larger exhibition of rare rock photographs from the world’s leading rock photographer, Ross Halfin, which will be expanded to include his priceless collection of original concert posters going right back to the early Isle of White Festivals. Chris Kimsey and Gary Langan, producers of some of the biggest albums every recorded, who were interviewed by Vernon Hamblin during the 2016 event, will return with other famous names from the world of music production. Additional seminars, of interest to the show’s audience, will be announced in the coming months.

Commenting on the planning for the 2017 show, Vernon Hamblin, organiser said, “The response to the first Indulgence Show has been superb, with exhibitors and contributors praising it for its atmosphere, format, professional organisation and quality of visitor. We promised the industry a new event and the new audience it has been crying out for and we delivered. 2017 will see us build on this, with additional attractions and even more targeted publicity aimed at bringing high net worth individuals and families to the show to experience the incredible products our exhibitors make.” He continues, “With our considerable advertising and marketing efforts, combined with the help of the industry in communicating to its own customer databases, we are confident that the visitor numbers will be higher than we saw at this year’s inaugural show. We look forward to opening the doors again in 2017.”

Keep up to date with Hifi Shows and events worldwide with the Hifi Pig Hifi Diary