FIT pulls the plug on 2020
January 2020

FIT Show organisers have cancelled the 2020 event only four months before the show was due to open its doors for its first annual outing at the NEC.

A brief announcement this week says the move follows “continuing unprecedented political and economic uncertainty” though many exhibitors and others had expressed doubts about the decision to take the biennial event to an annual format since it was first mooted at the 2019 event.

The 2021 FIT Show will take place as planned, on May 25to 27 that year. Event Director Nickie West said that support for this event continues to be positive, adding: “Where companies have been unable to commit to 2020, they have confirmed they will be a part of 2021. We can now pursue that enthusiasm and focus on delivering a fantastic FIT Show next year.

“The conditions that prompted the announcement of a FIT Show in 2020 have all changed, even since we made the announcement at the 2019 event.

“We have listened to the many active voices in the FIT Show community and will return the event to its most popular frequency, and everything that has made it a success. It is with huge disappointment, and with a genuine desire to preserve the long-term success of FIT Show for the entire industry, that we have made this decision.” 

The FIT Show began as an annual event from its debut at the Telford Exhibition Centre in 2013, following in 2014, then took a two-year break to 2016 before moving to the NEC the following year with 250 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors in attendance.

Angus Montgomery Group purchased 80% of FIT Show in January 2017, with Nickie West continuing as Event Director alongside the event’s founders Matthew Glover and Paul Godwin serving on the board as Chairman and Director respectively. 

Paul Godwin said this week:“I believe the announcement to concentrate on 2021 is the right decision. The whole team is now focussed on ensuring FIT Show returns to its roots.” 

Matthew Glover added: “Trading conditions have been difficult and, whilst the 2020 event was announced in good faith, it has not proved possible to deliver an event of the stature the industry deserves and we will get back to the format the industry believes is the best for them.”