"Tired but satisfied, it's just fantastic", Mieke Glorieux looks back with satisfaction on the first Busworld edition in Brussels Expo.
"Did you see those crowds Monday? We registered ten thousand visitors on Monday. We had set ourselves the target of 40,000 visitors for the 25th silver edition. Well, we are going to exceed that number. The next Busworld, from 9 to 14 October 2021, will take place again in Brussels Expo and then we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Busworld".
On Tuesday morning, coaches and taxis were constantly arriving and departing, and hundreds of visitors who came from the metro station were flowing to the main entrance in hand luggage trolleys. "On Monday, we welcomed some ten thousand visitors and now, on Tuesday, it's filling up again", Mieke Glorieux notes with satisfaction. "My biggest fear for this first edition in Brussels was the number of visitors. Because this Busworld edition is about a third larger than the previous editions in Kortrijk, we had to surpass the number of visitors of 35,000 in Kortrijk to avoid empty halls. Now that I see how crowded it is, I am really satisfied. On Sunday and Monday most foreign visitors arrived in Brussels and they will stay for two days. We are therefore expecting more than 40,000 visitors for this 25th edition of Busworld. We owe this increased interest to the fact that the fair has been moved to Brussels, close to Brussels Airport, the city centre and the many hotels in and around the capital".
NEW HALL LAYOUT FOR 2021
"Loyal exhibitors and some 175 newcomers are 99% enthusiastic about this Busworld in Brussels. We even succeeded in copying the conviviality, the atmosphere and the familial character of 'Kortrijk' to Brussels. I am therefore very satisfied. There are always things which can be improved of course, but this Busworld edion has really succeeded. We will soon start planning Busworld 2021, the year in which we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Busworld, which once started as the "Car&Bus salon".
The 26th edition, from 9 to 14 October 2021, will also look a little different. Busworld will be spread over halls 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and the Patio. Halls 1 and 3 will not be used, also because of the weight restrictions which apply to a number of stands in hall 3. Hall 2, which now functioned as an emergency solution to eliminate the waiting list and to be able to accommodate all exhibitors, will not be used in 2021 neither.