Divorce Trade!
I love trade shows. From the truly huge trade fairs to the small local variety. There are the truly exciting shows (like the air shows with their flying exhibitions), the potentially exciting (IGEDO-DESSOUS, the lingerie and swimwear show), the politically incorrect (such as the Shot Show), even the boring shows (DRUPA, which shows endless printing presses). There’s the sometimes esoteric (like the Frankfurt Book Show). I’ve heard rumors of a porn industry trade fair somewhere.
Which way to the divorce show?
But there is a new kind of trade fair in town – if your town happens to be Milan, one of Europe’s trade show capitals. The show is called “Ex Punto e a capo”, which translates to Ex Full Stop. It’s a consumer trade show for the divorce industry! Timed to coincide with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s alimony agreement with his soon-to-be ex-wife ($380,000 – per month), and staged in his hometown, Ex Punto e a capo attracted mostly Italian exhibitors, including lawyers, counselors, dating services, party planners, private detectives, even seduction coaches (I didn’t realize that was a business). The show, held in the basement of a downtown hotel (it’s not ready for the big time at the Milan fairgrounds), attracted more than a thousand paying visitors over its two-day run. Organizer Franco Zanetti said “There was never a stand without someone asking questions“. The man has had experience with consumer-oriented shows, by the way, helping to organize Italy’s first sex industry trade show (how did I miss that one?).
Divorce in Italy generally takes about three years, so there is a lot of scope to sell divorce-related services. There was a divorce planning company (called Ciao, Amore – or Goodbye, Love) that offers everything from legal services to finding babysitters. There was a stand signing up divorcees to run in Milan’s just for singles marathon. There were companies that do paternity tests and even one that offered celebratory parties complete with a voodoo doll and pins.
To my surprise, Milan’s show is not the first divorce trade fair. The New York Times reports a divorce show two years ago in Vienna and another last year in Paris. When will Las Vegas stage a divorce show, perhaps conveniently located near one of the city’s ubiquitous wedding chapels? Maybe the show could offer on-the-spot divorces! With free tattoos.
And there is definitely international potential for divorce shows. Slovenia’s Tourist Board put together a stand for the Milan show that advertised “regenerative weekends” at Slovenian resorts. Said a Slovenian spokeswoman: “We used to focus on couples and families,” but divorcees are “a very interesting market”. Can you imagine the Mexican resorts that would take space at a Vegas divorce fair?
