40 years of The Showman's Show with Johnny Lance
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, everybody, and welcome along to the Event Industry News Podcast. With me, James Dixon, wishing you all a very good morning, afternoon, or evening, whenever or wherever you tune into today's podcast from. The Event Industry News Podcast is brought to you by Present Communications, the podcast's headline sponsor. Present provides a broadcast quality live, hybrid, and virtual event production trusted by organizations where reliability really matters. Matters from corporate town halls and conferences to high-profile live streams. They deliver and design fully resilient systems that work first time. Our thanks to our sponsor, Present Communications. Um, and into today's episode. Um Very excited about today's episode because I get a chance to talk to somebody who I have chatted to and had the pleasure of sort of meeting, always kind of.
in inflating five or ten minute bursts for about the last 15 years or so. Um, but who's somebody who it's long overdue, uh uh a chat on the on the podcast to talk about what they do um and what they do and have done in the industry for many, many years. I'm delighted genuinely to say that my guest today is Johnny Lance from The Showman's Show. Johnny, a very warm welcome for the first time to the podcast.
Hello, James. It's lovely to see you and many thanks for having me here.
No, uh absolute pleasure. Loads of stuff to talk about today. Um genuinely can't believe this is the first time that we've we've had you on the podcast to talk about the showman's show. Um, you know, my experience of it goes back Pretty much uh equally to the time that I've been a freelancer in the events industry. I accidentally became self-employed in 2010, in September 2010. And in October 2010, um I I attended my first Ever Showman's show alongside um my good friend Paul Alopp from Event Industry News. Um and uh it's actually I I I I'm sort of shivering to say this. Been several years since I've I've actually been back there. I was there for several years at the start of my career. And then as luckily as the calendar fills up, you know, I've always been busy at that time of year, which is why perhaps, you know, I've never maybe uh had a chance to talk to you properly about the show and get you on the podcast.
But you know, it it's great to have you here. For those who don't know about the show. Tell us a little bit about the show, what it is, how it started. Let's start at the beginning.
Of course. Um, well, the Showman Show is uh a trade show and exhibition uh for the outdoor and special event industry. Um it's a family business. Um it was uh set up by my father and my mother back in uh 1984, and it was actually born out of um a directory that they were producing called the Showman's Directory, which was uh like a yellow pages for event support. supplies, which that they came, you know, they they worked on since the 1960s. And um it was uh a a uh basically an idea that was formed in a pub with my dad and his best friend uh who worked on the event scene. Um and they basically said, well let's bring this printed directory to life. Let's get all these contractors and services in a field.
Let's get them meeting and talking and engaging with the industry. Um and that's when the showman's directory comes to life was born. So so the showman show hasn't always been called the showman's show. It was originally called the Showman's Directory Comes to Life. Um now uh yeah, but not a particularly catchy name, so it was eventually uh to the showman show. But um but
that's how it
came about.
Fa fascinated to hear it. You know, as as many of the best ideas, you know, get uh formed in pubs over a pint with somebody. Well, but when you I guess when you think back to it, it seems bleeding obvious, doesn't it? You you that he had this directory for years, you know, with the with the with the supplier lists in there. Of course, it's for outdoor event suppliers, so why not bring them together? to deliver an outdoor event celebrating that outdoor industry and give people a chance to meet these people and bring them off the page and into real life.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–11:32
2
What is the origin story of The Showman's Show and how did it evolve from a printed directory?
11:32–21:10
3
How did the Showman's Show become the premier outdoor events trade exhibition?
21:10–34:55
4
What challenges does the show face as an outdoor event and how are they managed?
34:55–36:27
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Event Industry News Podcast
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