So what was the problem?

 

I'm afraid I left the exhibition in Amsterdam Central station completely baffled.

Suppose I suggested to you that your city needed another 9 km of underground. And that the project would start in 2003 and be ready 14 years later, 16 if you really are concerned about the final details. And that the bill would be 3.1 billion Euro, so that you could shave off a massive 15 minutes for a journey to the centre of Amsterdam from Central Station on the North Side. You'd say it was a bonkers scheme would'nt you? Well, that's what they're doing in the centre of Amsterdam. During IBC I have wondered what the hell is taking so long and why the roads are such a dangerous mess around the exhibition cente. There's an exhibition centre on the side of Amsterdam central station with brochures in English and Dutch explaining how they are really working on the 10th Great Wonder of the World. Except the brochures don't say what its costing, when it will be finished and what was the problem they were really trying to solve. The wikipedia entry is actually a more balanced view of what looks like a classic case of engineers on steroids. Imagine the disruption to businesses near this gaping hole.

For half that money they could afford to hire movie stars to give away free coffee on golden trams which would be so enjoyable you'd wish the journey took longer. Or am I missing something here?

Mission Impossible

Can't park at the RAI Exhibition Centre. Security has hired bouncers to keep people out, cause they are full at 9 am in the morning. And people are angry at the sheer mess at IBC 2007 this year. Great content, terrible support from the RAI and the city of Amsterdam. They just don't care. Everyone is simply out to make a fast buck.

IArrogance at IBC

Having been to most IBC's since the days of Brighton, 2007 will go down on record as one of the worst in living memory. Amsterdam, and the RAI Congress Centre, is one big building site. You could imagine that since they are unable to offer a full service (especially when it comes to parking), that RAI might offer some compensation - like hotel deals or better service at the restaurants. Nope. The hotel prices are up again, so is parking, the food at the RAI is expensive (6 Euro for a chicken sandwich) and the taxis are ripping everyone off (so what's new).



I have heard plenty of comments that IBC should make good on their threat of a few years ago to try out other European cities and make Amsterdam come up with serious improvements. It is not just 8000 hotel extra rooms that are needed - it is a return to providing service! Amsterdam keeps boasting that IBC at 45,000 visitors is the biggest media event for the trade. Wrong. Barcelona with the mediaworld congress gets 60,000. And why does the IBC exhibition hate the congress so much - deliberately NO publicity for the congress at the exhibition. Why does IBC fail to see what's going wrong before their very eyes?

Another Year, Another IBC

Will post more photos soon, but currently whizzing around the corridors of IBC in Amsterdam. But I notice already a sort of analogue backlash - conventional media who show that the audience figures for radio and TV have not eroded that much in their country and are sitting back and congratulating themselves. Calm before the storm, I think..