WDYTYA Live - End of an era.

[AntonyMMM]

The space of the NEC did make it feel quieter - the size of the hall means there was much more space between stands than at Olympia. I believe the attendance hasn't varied that much at either venue.

This year I was there 2 days - and the Friday was definitely quieter than Saturday (which felt quite busy). Thursday was also a busy day i am told.

The sad fact is these things are so expensive to stage and the economics of genealogy struggle to justify it ... hopefully something will replace it and if not more local FHS shows will see an increase in visitors in the meantime.

[weste]

smudwhisk.

I must admit I thought there was less stalls and so did my friend.There was definetly more space and the queues for the ladies loos were n't so big that we thought we needed to use the ones outside the hall. I went on a Friday this year as I did last year and ii definetly would say attendance on that day was down. Definetly heard people complaining about parking fees.

[AMN]

I have been to the show once in London and three times in Birmingham, the NEC was the better venue. The most popular aspects of the show was the talks and the ability to talk with other like minded people. Perhaps the numbers that fitted into the theatres were not big enough to attract more people. Also the vision of the screens could have been better. The military section allowed me trace exactly where my father was shot in Burma in WW2. It is surprising that the show has been running at a loss perhaps the sponsors could have done more to support the costs. I think there is still a family history show in Dublin in October at the RDS, similar style talks go on there.