16/09/2026
Can you relate? “The good old days”
When I started 25 years ago, it was so much easier—and honestly, the whole exhibition process felt simpler and made a lot more sense.
Back then, you’d think nothing of turning up early and getting in smoothly. There was that classic “first come, first served” vibe at exhibition centres—so people genuinely left super early to be first, get set up, and run a day without the constant delays.
Now, if you arrive at a venue without a time slot, you can be turned away.
And if you can’t get the right time slots—or the correct doors to unload—you end up waiting… and waiting. That delay then creates a massive knock-on effect for everything that follows.
Then there’s the forklift side of things.
In the old days, you could often hire forklifts to unload. These days, the logistics is handled by the venue’s logistics company—and the costs are often way out of reach for smaller businesses.
You can plan the journey perfectly: leave your house at 4am to drive to London, arrive by 8am… and still not be able to get into the halls until much later. Or you can’t get an 8am pass even when you’ve done everything right.
I can’t believe how much has changed in just 25 years.
It used to feel practical. Now it feels like unnecessary friction added at every step.
Has anyone else experienced this—either from the exhibitor side or the logistics side?
What’s your “things were better back then” story?