Ann Dalton (Events Manager) and Isabeau Botha (Corporate Communication Manager) of Agri-Expo
with the AAXO award for ‘Livestock’ and ‘Die Groot Plaasproe’.
An agricultural exhibition for the second year in a row outperformed some of the best commercial exhibitions in Africa at the exhibition industry’s annual awards function.
The agricultural-expo-farm-experience-combination ‘Agri-Expo Livestock’ and ‘Die Groot Plaasproe’ was awarded one of the industry’s top honours, namely the ROAR award for ‘Best Trade and Consumer Exhibition’, in the category for over 12 000 m2, on Thursday 31 January 2019. They competed against the cream of the exhibition industry in Southern Africa with other prominent category winners such as ‘MamaMagic: The Baby Expo Cape Town’ by Exposure Marketing (awarded the best overall exhibition), ‘Caminex Zambia’ by Specialized Exhibitions Montgomery, as well as ‘World Travel Market (WTM) Africa’, ‘Decorex Durban’ and ‘Fire and Feast Meat Exhibition’ by Reed Exhibitions.
The awards function was held by AAXO (Association of African Exhibition Organisers) in conjunction with EXSA (Exhibition Association of Southern Africa) at Montecasino in Johannesburg. The team of judges consisted of industry experts, including Irene Costa (Business Events Africa), Shanna Jacobsen (3S Media) and Lance Gibbons (Film Event Media).
According to Johan Ehlers, Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Expo, the agricultural society which presents ‘Livestock’ and ‘Die Groot Plaasproe’ annually in October at Sandringham outside Stellenbosch, recognition by the exhibition industry is as important a motivation as the agricultural industry and the public’s support of the project.
“Agri-Expo’s vision is precisely to promote agriculture by offering professional exhibitions. This award is not just recognition for Agri-Expo, but for the larger agricultural industry in South Africa,” says Ehlers. “Livestock and Die Groot Plaasproe have grown over the past five years to become one of the few opportunities in South Africa where the public can experience the total value chain of different agricultural industries in an accessible manner. It has developed into a multi-purpose agricultural expo providing a home to more than 20 different projects promoting agriculture as a whole – and therefore involves a logistical masterpiece.”
‘Agri-Expo Livestock’ and ‘Die Groot Plaasproe’ takes place from Thursday 10 October to Saturday 12 October 2019, at Sandringham, Stellenbosch. Details available on www.diegrootplaasproe.co.za or www.livestock.org.za.
