London Calling

In 1981, the gun to the first London Marathon was shot. More than 20,000 people applied to run: 7,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line. Now at capacity, a total of 46,500 were accepted from a record 80,500 applicants, with 32,563 finishing on the day. Since this time the event has continued to grow in size, stature and popularity with a capacity 46,500 accepted entrants each year. In all, a total of 676,743 have completed the race since its inception with a record 35,674 crossing the line in 2007.

According to the marathon's website, it's four day exhibition is to reel in a record-breaking amount of visitors. This could be in large part to the fact that there is no entrance fee for the race. So runners are encouraged attend with family or friends, which increased the total visitor numbers to an excess of 71,000 in 2007. It is estimated that visitors spend well in excess of 2.5 million pounds (almost 5 million USD) over the four days of the show.

The 2007 Flora London Marathon Exhibition is the only major mass consumer sports expo of its kind in the UK. Exhibitor's range from major sports manufacturers and retailers to companies selling financial products, sports tours, health care products, general food products, other major national and international races, energy drinks, health food products and charities. With huge exposure in the media this year including Live TV on the BBC and regional independent stations, plus a whole days radio broadcast by award winning sport reporter John Cushing at LBC. The show is becoming a must see event for all runners.

The exhibition provides businesses the opportunity to launch new products and promote existing ones while also providing a direct source of consumer feedback. Businesses who partake in the exhibition also get some great perks, including a free listing in the pre-race program and a listing, a link, and editable marketing information and logo on the Marathon Exhibition web site. The logo will also appear on the on line floor plan plus any stand activities posted to the site will be mailed to a visitor email list.