Shot down a 2nd time! The Great British Shooting Show cancelled at Exhibition Centre Liverpool

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After facing angry backlash over the summer concerning another event, The Great British Shooting Show has, once again, been the focus of a furore.

Exhibition Centre Liverpool announced the cancellation of the show, which was due to take place next year, after it received a rush of complaints about Safari hunting companies allegedly exhibiting at the show. The planned event also received an intervention from Mayor Joe Anderson as well as a cross-party council motion.

A statement on the venue’s website read: “As an ethical and responsible company, we consistently review the content of all events while continuing our commitment to generate business and economic impact for the city.” It continued to state that negotiations with the show had been “terminated”.

What is it all about?

The Great British Shooting Show is a trade and retail shooting show that gathers the shooting industry, communities and enthusiasts. It is a yearly event that is used to showcase weapons and hunting equipment.

It was the eye of a similar storm over the summer when protestors complained to the NEC (its host venue) about certain exhibitors promoting international hunting trips. As a result, the NEC issued a statement to say it was “removing exhibitors that practise safari hunting from the show”.

These hunting trips include packages to kill wild animals such as giraffes, elephants, zebras, hippos, cheetahs, leopards, antelopes and ostriches. 

Steve Morgan from FRL Media, the company behind the show, described the decision to cancel “disappointing.” 

He told Event Industry News: “There has been a lot of misinformation published in the media. There were never any plans to introduce Safari hunting companies to Liverpool, so as you can imagine, it’s quite frustrating.”

He also praised the team at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool who had initially invited the show to Liverpool and made his team feel very welcome during their meetings over the past year.

Liverpool City Council’s intervention

The cross-party motion to prevent the Great British Shooting Show taking place at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool stated that it was aware there was no proposal to include the “deplorable” hunting practices, but it “deplores the fact that any company promoting such activity should be allowed to do so in a venue that Liverpool City Council has control over.”

It has also requested Mayor Anderson call upon the government to introduce a UK-wide ban on the promotion on all international hunting trips.

The motion will be debated at the full council meeting next Wednesday (16th).

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com