Optrafair boss views new venue for Mido

Optrafair's boss was one of the delegates to deliver his verdict on Mido's new venue this weekend.

Malcolm Polley visited the Fiera Milano complex at Rho-Pero, the massive single floor arena near Milan's Malpensa airport, which will replace the current multi-level exhibition site from next year.

'The Rho-Pero is a very impressive venue that is futuristic in design and just 10 minutes away from the current Mido location,' he said.

'The site occupies 530,000sq m, all halls are set on one level and there is a purpose-built conference centre and Metro line right up to the entrance.'

The preview took place as Milan hosted Europe's largest event in the optical calendar for the last time at Fiera Milano City. Over 42,000 visitors - a 6.3 per cent increase on last year's 40,000 visitor attendance -crowded into the show to see the latest eyewear fashion trends, technological developments and optical education. Of these, some 26,331 were overseas visitors, marking a 9.9 per cent rise from 2005.

A further 1,200 exhibitors from 125 countries attended the four-day show, displaying hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyewear in nine large halls covering a total floor space of 130,000sq m.

During the opening press conference, Mido president Cirillo Marcolin said: 'Each year, Mido is the preferred exhibition for buyers and trade people from around the world because it offers the largest and most wide-ranging spectrum of products for industry and because it is an important business generator and an invaluable international showcase for exhibitors.'

Mido 2006 will feature in Optician's May 19 and May 26 editions and Mido 2007 will take place from May 4-7.