Hard hats and corporate wear were replaced with black tie glamour, as the South African exhibition industry turned up for the fifth ROAR Awards ceremony held on Friday 31 January 2020, at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.
Hosted jointly by the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) and the Exhibition and Event Association of Southern Africa (EXSA), the ROAR Awards (which stand for Respect, Opportunities, Achievement and Recognition) is the biggest annual industry event that recognizes and celebrates examples of exhibition excellence. This year the competition was fierce, and the anticipation on the night was tangible to see who would walk away with an award.
Congratulations to the following 2019 ROAR Awards winners.
AAXO Best Exhibition Awards:
- 2019 Best Exhibition of the Year: World Travel Market Africa by Reed Exhibitions
- Best Trade Exhibition (under 6,000m²): Africa Ports and Rail Evolution by dmg events
- Best Trade Exhibition (6,001 – 12, 000m²): World Travel Market by Reed Exhibitions
- Best Trade Exhibition (over 12, 000m²): Africa Utility Week and Powergen Africa by Clarion Events
- Best Consumer Exhibition (6,001 – 12, 000m²): MamaMagic Baby Expo Johannesburg Winter by Exposure Marketing
- Best Consumer Exhibition (over 12, 000m²): ComicCon Africa by Reed Exhibitions
- Best Trade & Consumer Exhibition (under 6, 000m²): Design Joburg by Media 10
- Best Trade and Consumer Exhibition (6,001 – 12, 000m²): FIBO Global Fitness Africa by Reed Exhibitions
- Best Trade and Consumer Exhibition (over 12, 000m²): Decorex Joburg by Reed Exhibitions
- Africa Bound Exhibitions: Electra Mining Botswana by Specialised Exhibitions
- Best Social Media Campaign: ComicCon Africa by Reed Exhibitions
- Best industry member venue: Ticketpro Dome
Click here to view the full list of AAXO Award winners, including those who received Distinctions in Exhibiting.
EXSA-llence Awards:
- EXSA Hall of Fame inductees: Brad Alder, Jacqui Nel and Patrick Cronning
- EXSA Chairperson’s Award: Justin Hawes and Chad Botha
- Best Overall Design Stand of the 2019 Year: Caesarstone stand at Decorex 2019 by Smartbuild
- Best External Stand (any size): Interoll stand at Propak 2019 by ConCept G
- Best Custom Built Stands (12m² & under): Investec stand at Batseta 2019 by The Exhibitionist; Siemens Healthineers stand at SASUOG 2019 by ConCept G; and Siemens Healthineers stand at SMLTSA 2019 by ConCept G
- Best Custom Built Stands (13 – 24m²): Janssen stand at Biological 2019 by Brilliant Branding; and Kirion stand at ICE 2019 by Brilliant Branding
- Best Custom Built Stand (25 – 50m²): IFM stand at Africa Automation 2019 by Brilliant Branding
- Best Custom Built Stands (51 – 100m²): Aberdare Cables stand at AUW 2019 by SSQ; and Caesarstone stand at Decorex 2019 by Smartbuild
- Best Custom Built Stands (101 – 200m²): PRASA stand at Africa Rail 2019 by Compex; and SA Tourism stand at Tourism Indaba 2019 by Blu Cube
- Best Custom Built Stands (201m² and over): SA Tourism stand at ITB Berlin 2019 by Blu Cube
- Best Pavilion Stand (any size): IDC Pavilion at RSA Investment 2019 by GL Events
- Best Outdoor Stand (any size): VW stand at NAMPO 2019 by GL Events
Note: Where a category did not receive any submissions that reached the required standard that was set, no Award was presented in that category. This was unfortunately the case with System Built stands of any size.
