There were more Brits there than ever this time, and we must surely hail the organisation, facilities and affordability of this dark horse that seems to have comfortably seen off anything else that northern Europe can muster, whilst IDEF in Cannes looks to grab the southern territories.
Is there room for something more retail-focused this side of the channel? Absolutely. But the UK will never be able to compete with GC as a whole – whether Leipzig or any other Germany city further down the line.
Who is stopping that from happening? The UK itself. And time, which has run out.
As Sony’s David Reeves has said on many occasions, the bigger companies would back a big London show if they thought that the infrastructure, funding or passion was there to make it work. It isn’t. Game over.