Framingham, Mass.-based IDG World Expo on Friday announced that Macworld Boston, which returned to Massachusetts last year, would be leaving the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) in favor of the Hynes Convention Center for the 2005 summer show. Show organizers cite venue size as the main reason for moving the event.
IDG World Expo executives said this change comes as a direct result of listening to the people that attended the show and the vendors who exhibit at Macworld Boston. While venue size is a contributing factor, the change has more to do with convenience and atmosphere, according to IDG World Expo.
“It’s not necessarily a smaller venue,” Warwick Davies, IDG World Expo group vice president, told MacCentral. “Things are closer together making it more convenient for attendees and exhibitors. The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center hall was great, but we want to have a more intimate setting, which the new hall gives us. The 2004 show was a huge success, which is why we are continuing next year.”
Boston currently hosts several shows from IDG including Macworld Conference & Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, and Bio-IT World Conference + Expo. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Executive Director James E. Rooney said his organization “worked closely to ensure that this move would be mutually beneficial for both parties.”
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority owns the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) and the Hynes Convention Center.
IDG World Expo executives reiterated the success of Macworld Boston 2004 and their continued commitment to the East Coast show in the future.
“We had a successful event in 2004, and we will continue to invest resources to make Macworld Conference & Expo the world’s most comprehensive Macintosh OS event,” said Davies.
IDG World Expo and MacCentral are both owned by IDG.