Articles by Philip Soar
Opinion1 October 2026
How the Met nearly strangled DSEI at birth
DSEI is the largest trade show in the United Kingdom. Recent Clarion numbers quote revenues of £31 million. But a weird…
M&A2 September 2026
The world of events and exhibitions – turned upside down
As the defeated English army marched away from Yorktown in in October 1781, the band of the American rebels played a then…
Opinion17 August 2026
How trade shows and Premier League football are in lockstep
A month ago I argued that Premier League clubs and trade show companies appeared to now have the same sorts of investors,…
Opinion7 July 2026
The Soar Point: If you don’t believe the AI hype, try this avatar for size…
By Phil Soar, co-founder of CloserStill Group and Chairman of Nineteen Group The Times recently reported how a fake avatar beat…
M&A29 June 2026
The Soar Point: How trade shows and the Premier League are brothers
By Phil Soar, co-founder of CloserStill Group and Chairman of Nineteen Group Overwhelming is probably the best adjective to…
Central & North America16 June 2026
How to turn £700,000 into $1.77bn in 14 easy steps
Co-founder of CloserStill Group, Phil Soar, offers a how-to on flipping an exhibition company for over a billion dollars At the…
Central & North America3 June 2026
The Soar Point: Three quotes to change our world
By Phil Soar, co-founder of CloserStill Group and Chairman of Nineteen Group In the space of just 8 weeks this summer…
Opinion14 May 2026
The Soar Spot: The strange story of the broken light bulbs
By Phil Soar, co-founder of CloserStill Group and Chairman of Nineteen Group I was in Warsaw in 1990 walking round a…
Asia Pacific2 April 2026
Phil Soar: How will the war in Iran affect trade shows?
By Phil Soar, Chairman of CloserStill Group and Nineteen Group First of all – I don’t know. Secondly, no-one knows. Thirdly…
