Boston Herald: Macworld Expo backing out of Boston?

It looks like IDG World Expo may be changing its mind about moving its summer Macworld Expo event back to Boston, according to a recent Boston Herald article. The comments come from David Korse, IDG World Expo's new President, who told the Boston newspaper that he plans to make a final decision by Labor Day, September 1, 2003.

Amidst much fanfare, IDG World Expo announced in 2002 that the company would bring Macworld Expo back to Boston after a stint of several years in New York City's Javits Center. The company was to occupy Boston's still-unfinished new convention center, currently in construction in the city's South Boston area. The City of Boston and the convention center authority itself made a number of concessions to draw the event to Boston, including offering IDG World Expo free use of city property to stage Macworld Expo-related activities.

In a press release made shortly after IDG World Expo's announcement, Apple expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision and said that it would not participate in a new Boston show. The company added that it would reevaluate its commitment to the remaining New York show, which took place last month.

Attendees of Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo, as the show was renamed, found a much smaller event than 2002 both in terms of exhibitor and attendee participation. Some attendees and vendors attributed the smaller showing to Apple's decision to scale back its involvement at the event, and its lack of any major new hardware announcements at the show.

Korse told the Herald that he "sees no binding commitments by IDG" to exhibit in Boston -- although IDG World Expo's decision to return the show to Boston had been widely reported by local and national media. Korse called former IDG World Expo head Charlie Greco's agreement with local city and tourism officials a "term sheet" rather than an actual contract.

The comments drew criticism from Greco, who called a decision to back out of the Boston commitment "truly dishonest and unprofessional."

Korse suggested that a sweetheart deal from Boston would be mean nothing if the event fails to draw a crowd. "If you are able to get the hall for free, but at the end of the day, nobody shows up, what good is the free rent?" he asked.