Bluewater events venue Glow will be hosting more attractions

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Glow, Kent's biggest indoor venue, is set to offer a wider range of events.

Around £500,000 could be invested this year in tweaking the Bluewater showcase to offer more facilities and different layouts.

The £60million building opened in November 2011, primarily to host consumer shows.

In the first 12 months, more than 600,000 people flocked to the venue for expos and entertainments such as the Winter Wonderland and the BBC Good Food Show.

But demand from consumer show organisers is not as strong as originally forecast.

New venue director Michael Watton (pictured left) believes modifications are needed to better equip it to attract sport, music, comedy, product launches, award presentations and banqueting.

The recent boxing event at which James DeGale successfully defended his European title - watched on television by millions around the world - underlined the venue's suitability for sport, triggering strong demand from promoters.

Glow's change in direction aims to appeal to a wider range of people and interests, as well as boosting venue use and income.

Mr Watton said it needed "significant six-figure investment" as well as time, commercial resource and physical changes to the building.

"We have a plan in place to make changes that are necessary because the kind of customers we're talking to are not consumer shows, they're promoters of events, interested in selling tickets and putting bums on seats."

But he insisted it was important to choose the right events, especially ones that were profitable.

Greater use of Glow did not inevitably contribute to the bottom line, and no venue in the world enjoyed 365 event days a year.

He said: "My view is we do more of the things that have worked and fewer of the things that haven't."