Crowded calendar blamed for attendance shortfall; revised NIV makes its national debut

While attendance has dropped, respect has grown for the International Christian Resources Exhibition (ICRE), with first-time and established exhibitors saying they will be back.

Held at Sandown Park in Surrey, the May 10-13 event had 400 exhibitors, but drew just over 10,000 visitors—short of the organizers’ 13,000 target.

They believed the current economic downturn is a contributing factor. “We have to be aware of the change in the church and change in finances,” said Steve Briars, event and program director. “We probably have to think a little bit outside the box.”

People were waiting longer to book for these show, which had also been hindered by a late Easter, and several public holidays in rapid succession, Briars told Christian Retailing. “There’s no other place where you can meet such a wide and diverse cross-section of church decision-makers,” he said.

 That was echoed by some exhibitors. “People come here with a certain mission,” said Lucy Mhondera, marketing manager of Kingsway, an event sponsor. “We’ve had some great conversations with people. People are just looking for great resources for their church.” She noted a general consensus that visitors felt this year’s event was “a little bit quieter.”

ICRE’s Word & Worship sessions—where popular worship leaders teamed up with best-selling authors—meant Kingsway saw fresh interest in existing resources such as Roy Godwin’s story of spiritual renewal, The Grace Outpouring, published in 2008.

Steve and Bekah Legg launched women’s magazine Liberti, gaining 100 subscribers as a result. Editor of the men’s magazine Sorted, Steve Legg described ICRE as “the ultimate place for launching” the publication. Fellow exhibitors told him that this year’s event was quieter, but his experience was different. “For us, it’s been better than last year,and we’re certainly booking in for next year—with a bigger stand,” Legg said.

Newcomer Harvest India UK was also delighted. “It’s been great to make contact with people which we wouldn’t have been able to do from our own base,” said trustee Tracey Ansell. The organization’s aim was to tell church leaders about its humanitarian and evangelistic work in India. The stand at CRE produced more than 50 contacts. “We’ve found the quality of people coming here to be very good,” Ansell added.

 Leading publisher Hodder Faith also had a positive show. The company launched the revised and updated New International Version, copies of which had arrived at its London offices the week before.

 “We’ve had a lot of interest,” Director of Publishing Ian Metcalfe said of the Bibles. Hodder also launched touch-screen, iPad-friendly Scripture software Glo Premium. “No one has seen anything like it before,” said Metcalfe. 

Hundreds flocked to hear authors like Philip Yancey and Jeff Lucas in the seminar program. Also creating a buzz at the event was More Than Gold, a campaign set up to help churches prepare for the 2012 London Olympics. The initiative’s president, Lord Brian Mahwhinney, officially opened CRE. 

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