THE CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW, HOW IT STARTED... HOW IT'S GOING

THE CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW, HOW IT STARTED… HOW IT’S GOING

It’s no surprise that things in this world aren’t what they used to be. At MCR it is no different.

For the better part of 25 Years; THIS has been the time of year when we move into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto for the Canadian International Autoshow.

It has been my pleasure working alongside the show managers, auto manufacturers, decorators, facilities staff, and customer service representative to provide AV equipment rentals, networks and ticketing support for this fantastic show.

I stepped on my first Autoshow floor 17 years ago and I have to admit at that time I didn’t get it, why would anyone spend money to go look at cars when they can simply go to a dealership for free? But to anyone who has ever been to the Canadian International Autoshow; they would know it is so much more than that. From exotics cars, new concepts, and art and the automobile to the vendors, military vehicles, safety exhibits and family friendly entertainment; there was a distinct buzz that would engulf the MTCC.

Now, things have changed, and how! Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the conference and trade show industry, and sadly being one of Canada’s largest publicly attended events; the Canadian International Autoshow was cancelled this year. Looking back, there were times when the long 16-hour days monitoring the ticket sales or supporting our various AV and iPad contests around the show, would seem tiresome. Now here in a locked-down 2021, I sit in my attic with my 4-year-old son, explaining the importance of vehicle spacing and visual media placement.

It’s hard to say how things will look in the future if events continue to have restricted attendance guidelines including mandatory facial coverings, hand sanitizer checkpoints and social distancing. Perhaps we could benefit from factoring those requirements into events in the future, even in a post-pandemic world. Is it naïve to hope that things will go back to the way they were before the Coronavirus? Or should we take this opportunity to look at how we design our floor plans, space our booths, traffic flow, and overall show floor experience?