Well the event finally arrived - the one we had been waiting for! The International Cremation and Burial Conference and Exhibition 2007. And what a success it was! Once we got settled into the hotel on Saturday night the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead (http://www.hilton.co.uk/newcastlegateshead) were fantastic. Their staff were second to none and looked after our demanding needs throughout the 5 days we were there. The hotel is of a very high standard and offers the most amazing views over the Tyne from their floor to ceiling glass windowed reception and bar. Feedback for this event - the first to join several different Cremation organisations together at one event - was generally very positive. Delegates and exhibitors alike loved the venue, the atmosphere was so friendly and it certainly looked like delegates enjoyed making new contacts. There is always room for improvement and we hope we get a chance to manage this conference again as despite the morbid subject it was a thoroughly enjoyable event to be involved with.

ICBCE 2007 was one of the longer events that we have managed lately, lasting from the set-up day on Sunday until Thursday. It hosted around 150 delegates and approximately 40 exhibition stands, totalling 80 actual exhibitor attendees. The exhibits were amongst the most unusual we have ever seen (moving a coffin wasn't my favourite part of the event!) and included urns, diamonds made from cremated remains and memorial stones. Our favourite challenge was working out how the stand made of several tonnes of stone that took 9 hours to be erected would be dismantled in just 2 hours! But we enjoyed the challenge and everything was alright on the night!

All in all the event went incredibly due to hard work from all involved. Of course no event would be complete without a celebrity sighting, but we went one better - our toastmaster was the father of Marlon Dingle of Emmerdale fame! OK that is a bit lame - there was that other fella I saw in the hotel reception surrounded by body guards and bustling PAs, what was his name now....ah David Cameron that's it!

Just another normal event for The Conference People! Here's to ICBCE 2008!