PLASA Show

PLASA Show
View of PLASA 2013 in ExCeL
Status	Active
Genre	Entertainments Industry Technical Equipment
Venue	Olympia
Location(s)	London
Country	United Kingdom
Inaugurated	1977
Founder	British Association of Discotheque Manufacturers
Attendance	9,260 (2014)
Organized by	PLASA
Website
plasashow.com

The PLASA Show is an annual trade show hosted at Olympia and organised by the Professional Lighting and Sound Association. The show was formerly held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre and between 2013 and 2015 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. The show draws an international attendance of exhibitors and visitors in the lighting, audio and related technologies sector of the entertainments industry.

The show originally started in 1977 at the Bloomsbury Crest, London, launching under the name of Discotek 77. In 1982, whilst still at the Bloomsbury Crest, it was renamed the BADEM Light & Sound Show to mirror the name of the fledgling trade association that had been set up for the sector - the British Association of Discotheque Equipment Manufacturers. BADEM was subsequently renamed the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and thus in 1984, the show became the PLASA Light and Sound Show. In 1985, it relocated to the Novotel in Hammersmith, then to Olympia 2 in 1988, where it stayed until 1992 before transferring to the larger Earls Court 2.

It made the move from Earls Court 2 to Earls Court 1 in 1996 and in 2007 opened the doors back to Earls Court 2 and occupied both halls. In 2013 the show moved to the ExCeL exhibition centre. It stayed here for 3 years, announcing that the 2016 show would move back to West London and be hosted at Olympia during September. During its time at ExCeL PLASA had been hosted during the month of October - prior to this the show was typically held during September. The 2016 show will have 50% less floor space as part of an effort to contain the costs involved in the show. In an interview given in 2015, Chris Toulmin (PLASA's Director of Events) claimed that the representation of pro-audio companies at the show had been in a long-term decline and that many exhibitors now viewed the event as a domestic rather than internationally significant trade show.