Conference Review
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Delegates take in Kaninlandet during a guided tour of Liseberg
IAAPA SPRING FORUMEuropean members have swell time in Sweden
The third annual IAAPA Europe Spring Forum took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, on
3 and 4 June with around 150 members in attendance as guests of the city’s famous Liseberg amusement park
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AAPA has staged similar events, comprising a handful of education sessions and multiple in-park activities and networking opportunities, since 2011. They also provide a taster of the host country for the following year’s EAS. So, in 2011 the event took place at Europa-Park, Germany, as a precursor to Euro Attractions Show (EAS) 2012 in Berlin; last year the forum was held at Efteing, the Netherlands, in anticipation of this September’s EAS in Amsterdam; and the recent event at Liseberg was designed to showcase Gothenburg, which will welcome the first Scandinavian edition of EAS in October 2015. There was no Spring Forum in 2012, but the Euro Attractions Show that followed last autumn in Paris was a big success anyway. As with several leading Scandinavian amusement parks, Liseberg enjoys a prominent city centre position. Many delegates stayed at the Hotel Liseberg Heden just a short walk away, while others
chose the Gothia Towers directly across from the park and above Svenska Mässan (Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre) – host venue for EAS 2015. After various IAAPA committee meetings on Monday 2 June, the Forum kicked off on Tuesday with a welcome lunch at The Green Room, Liseberg’s attractive new vegetarian restaurant, followed by two hours of presentations on safety, mainly from the park’s own staff. During the backstage tour that followed, attendees were shown the charming Kaninlandet (Rabbit Land) area added last year, along with Liseberg’s concert areas, restaurants and its crowning glory for 2014 – the new Helix double launch coaster. They were informed about the 5 hectares the park has recently secured for expansion over the next two decades – not bad considering it only covers 3 hectares at present. The tour was followed by a fun triathlon, taking in three of Liseberg’s many midway games, then dinner at the Stjärnornas Krog restaurant, where carnivores were able to get their first meat fix of the day since breakfast. Wednesday morning’s programme, for those that joined it, included an update on accessibility guidelines and ISO/CEN safety standards, followed by a backstage tour of the Universeum science centre adjacent to the park and then a farewell lunch of fish (how’s that for healthy in-park dining?) Requiring no more than three days away from the office, the event was just the right length for IAAPA members to fit into their busy spring/summer schedules and served as a great opportunity for members representing both attraction operators and manufacturers/suppliers to get together before the next Euro Attractions Show later this year. The only room for improvement at next year’s forum might be in the content of the conference programme, which covered some important stuff but was arguably too niche for the broad attendance the event attracted. Perhaps IAAPA Europe’s education advisory committee could lend a hand? Possible locations for the next European forum, not necessarily in spring, include Turkey or Spain (EAS 2016 will take place in Barcelona).
iaapa.org/europe All pictures captioned left to right
The new Helix coaster was a highlight for many Spring Forum attendees
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David Schofield (Quarry Foot Studio); Andreas Andersen (Liseberg CEO), Pär-Ola Mannefred (Liseberg chairman), Lotta Carlsbogård (Liseberg project leader)
Thomas Sjostran (Liseberg), Cynthia Mamon (Enchanted Kingdom, Philippines), Michael Kreft von Bayern (Europa- Park), Mario Mamon (Enchanted Kingdom/IAAPA chairman)
JULY 2014
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