Organisers of Farnborough ‘96 looked back on the world's best-known airshow this week and said: "The best just got better."
When the curtain eventually drops on the final trade day of the show today, more than 130,000 visitors will have flooded through the Farnborough front gates, a 10% increase on 1994.
Head of exhibitions Kim Scott says: "Farnborough ‘96 has exceeded my wildest expectations. It's been a spectacular success.
"But it hasn't been easy. The Show's success is the result of a two-year planning campaign co-ordinated by a 13-strong SBAC team dedicated to the job."
She adds: "We learn something new at each show, something that we can build upon and improve for the next one.
"This year we have brought in new-style temporary structures to open up the exhibition halls."
Unusual
Site manager Andy Coulson says: "We build Farnborough the way you would create a small town, and then knock it all down again after a fortnight. We have to lay on everything and cater for all eventualities."
The SBAC works around the clock at Farnborough to keep the cogs of the Show moving. Some of the more unusual Show facts include:
The site has an electric grid that would power up a town the size of nearby Aldershot.
There are 140 full-time litter pickers, who work through the night cleaning the show ground.
Visitors have used more than 10,000 toilet rolls.
Some 500 tonnes of rubbish has been binned and taken away from the site.
Says Kim: "It's been hard work, but very rewarding. The Show is a success and thousands of people enjoyed the event. How do we top that?"
Source: Flight Daily News
