Vapouround magazine ISSUE 20 | Page 126

EVENTS BY GEORGE WAINWRIGHT VAPEXPO PARIS, PARIS-NORD VILLEPINTE. OCTOBER 6 - 8 As soon as I arrived at the venue one thing immediately struck me, the wonderful smell of crêpes which filled the air from the vendors outside. 126 | VM20 “ The centre piece of the show was a mock-up of the lower section of the Eiffel Tower at the main stage complete with tables and chairs for people to sit and relax. “ There was a queue of people waiting to gain entry to the expo but it did not take long to get through security and into the venue itself. This event was a lot larger than the last one and it is clear that Vapexpo events are now firmly established on the international vaping calendar. All the exhibitors I spoke to told me that it was a great show and that they planned to come back again next year which is a sure sign of a great show. This was a well-organised and well-managed event which was busy throughout the three days but never seemed over-crowded. The music was loud enough to create a great atmosphere but not overpowering so as to be distracting. The stands were laid out logically and I particularly loved the way all the new exhibitors were grouped together at the front of the venue. The ‘Newcomers Corner’ was a really neat idea which worked really well and it was the first time I had seen it done. Unusually Vapexpo Paris had one consumer day followed by two business-to-business days, but it worked well and it seems the organizers knew their target audience. The location of the expo, very close to Charles De Gaulle Airport, was great for visitors flying into Paris although it was obviously a little way out of the centre of the city. The centre piece of the show was a mock-up of the lower section of the Eiffel Tower at the main stage complete with tables and chairs for people to sit and relax. There was no doubt at all that this was a French expo, which might seem like an obvious thing to say but some shows can tend to have a rather generic feel to them, which was certainly not the case here. There was a good mix of national and international exhibitors here and it is clear to see why Vapexpo has such a good reputation for putting on vaping events. This was a very strong show and one I enjoyed very much indeed. All of the staff were very friendly and accommodating throughout the three days and went the extra mile to ensure everyone was looked after.