Atrium plants will be 'green welcome' for Glee visitors
 |
Visitors to Glee 2014 will enter the show through a new plant area – dubbed by the organisers as ‘The Green Heart of Glee’. This new area is set to be a leading showcase for British-grown plants.
Led and managed by Glee’s new consultant, Neil Gow (see p16), the area will be home to more than 40 UK growers, each showing their latest 2015 ranges, as well as offering exclusive, show-only deals.
Housed in the Atrium area, directly outside the entrances to Glee’s new home in NEC halls 17 – 20 and incorporating Glee’s registration desks, ‘The Green Heart of Glee’ will fill what is thought to be the biggest greenhouse in the UK. Within this space, growers and UK nurseries can create displays of everything from herbs and bedding plants, to trees, shrubs, alpines and houseplants. Each exhibitor will be given an identical ‘plot’ – which will feature benches and signage.
 Gow says the feature has been developed following industry feedback. “The post-show survey, conducted after Glee 2013, showed that over 35% of visitors wanted to see more plants at the show,” he said. “Couple this with the fact that Glee delivers the strongest mix of gardening sundries and complementary products, all of which are related to plants in one way or another, and it felt like a very natural direction for the area to take.
“More than this, we wanted to develop an area that encouraged co-ordination across a number of departments within garden retail outlets, from plant buyers to garden centre owners. And a key factor for nursery exhibitors in their support of the Green Heart of Glee is the fact that unlike plant orientated shows, Glee does have the principles and senior managers of businesses already attending it. Our belief is that ‘The Green Heart of Glee’ will encourage a much wider audience attendance at Glee 2014, something that will pay dividends for all exhibitors at the show.”
i2i’s Matthew Mein, Glee event manager, added: “The Green Heart of Glee is an exciting new initiative for the 2014 show, and one that will undoubtedly change the way that Glee looks and performs. Neil’s input will be invaluable, and companies interested in taking part should get in touch with him – email Neil.Gow@i2ieventsgroup.com or telephone 0203 033 2497 – as space is already filling up. We look forward to watching the progression of this area over the coming months.”
|
|
