MD James Brooke has to be congratulated for doing what nobody thought possible. In less than a year he’s got a show together that’s causing major ripples and ructions throughout this industry. Brooke is promising a red carpet ceremony on Fiday with marines abseiling down the front of the building, Penny Lankester-Stewart in her capacilty as an ambassador for the Prince's Trust and many other celebrities.

One of these many other celebrities is Vijay Mallya, the Indian billionaire who bought Whyte & Mackay through his United Breweries Group. He also, it transpires, recently bought the ailing Spyker F1 team for a reputed €80m (as you do...). According to Brooke, Mallya owns five boats, the largest of which is a mere 300ft...

Quite what we’ll see when we get inside the show remains a mystery.BB repeats its hope the ECBS and the London Boat Show at ExCeL in January 2008 are so completely different in concept that the two may run alongside each other. Brooke remains confident this is entirely possible. 'Both are boat shows,' he told BB. 'But they'recompletely different boat shows.'

If, however, both shows appeal to the same audience, BB can’t see the two running for very long. For the good of the industry, BB would like to see the ExCeL show as the London Boat Show.

So it’s entirely in the hands of the industry to make sure the British Marine Federation (BMF) and its boat show organising subsidiary, National Boat Shows (NBS), gives the public the kind of show it will want to travel to ExCeL to see.

Earls Court is a strong challenger for the hearts and minds of the traditional boat show audience. It remains to be seen whether the ECBS is the kind of show that will appeal to that audience. If it does, the industry has a bit of a problem on its hands...

Our picture of Gipsy Moth IV negotiating the narrow streets of London will bring back lots of memories. For those of us in the industry, there is no comparison between Earls Court and ExCeL as exhibition centres. Earls Court remains outdated and difficult to work.

For the visitor, however, it remains close to the West End. It remains close to countless restaurants and bars a few minutes’ walk away in the Earls Court Road or the Old Brompton Road. These are things the industry and the federation cannot change.

So we have to make the London Boat Show at ExCeL the very best boat show in the world to ensure exhibitors and visitors all want to go to there. The alternative may be a very messy affair.

Peter Nash
Editor