FCI World Dog Show 2014 – Helsinki (FI), 8-10 August
The FCI main conformation event of the year is over and will remain in everybody’s mind as the symbol of what a perfectly well-organised dog show should be.
Year 2014 was for Finland the 125th anniversary of their creation. It was a superb reason for the Finns to apply for hosting the 2014 FCI World Dog Show, 16 years after having had the pleasure to meet the dog scene on the occasion of the 1998 FCI World Dog Show, with an interesting entry of 15,300 dogs.
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Y. De Clercq
FCI Executive Director
Interview with James Skinner, Press Officer The Kennel Club and Crufts
Crufts is considered the biggest and best organised show in the world. The Finnish Kennel Cluc has probably the highest standard for the FCI World- and Section Shows. What are, in your opinion, the biggest differences?
The Finnish Kennel Club did a wonderful job in organising this year’s World Dog Show and are to be congratulated on their success. The biggest difference between the WDS and Crufts would probably be the size of the venue required and the public attendance figures. The figure of 53,000 visitors over at the WDS was very good, but we have to find room for up to 160,000 at Crufts!
The other big difference is the effect that having a live national television broadcast has on the way in which the main ring is organised, particularly for Best in Show.
Are there things you will keep in mind and take with you to the UK to consider?
The show entry and results system was very impressive and I will be providing the Chairman of Crufts with feedback on this accordingly. I was also impressed with the organisation of the press office and hope to be able to introduce a few of those initiatives at Crufts in due course. I would like to be able to improve the working conditions for press people at Crufts, but there are several challenges and obstacles to overcome first.
Tell me what surprised or impressed you most.
I think the Finns came up with a very striking design concept for the show and I was hugely impressed with the simplicity of the colour scheme used to promote the show through posters and merchandising etc. It gave the show a real sense of class and style and was very much in keeping with the reputation that Finland has for great design.
Were there, in your opinion, things that you liked, but which would never work in the UK shows and Crufts? If so why?
Organising the press facilities at Crufts has many challenges which the WDS does not face in the same way. Crufts is seen as more than just a dog show to the general public – it is a national institution – and we attract a greater number of non-dog people to the show, particularly in terms of press. It is difficult to strike a balance between the interests of dog people and the national non-dog press, but I look forward to embracing this challenge in future years. I’m also not sure we have the budget to offer as many freebies to the press as we have twice as many in attendance!
Interview: Karl Donvil