The first edition of the new contest called the Exposition of the Year for Members of Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry has been launched. The contest replaced the Stand of the Year contest which had been organized since 1998. The changes are the consequence of signals received from the exhibition sector as well as the transformations of the Polish exhibition market. The Polish sector of exhibiting services has been growing rapidly and taking bolder steps to enter foreign markets. Polish entrepreneurs successfully operate on those markets, executing orders of exhibitors from all over the world in any location on the globe. One could actually say that it has become a Polish export specialization. The need for thorough change Already in 2014 Members of PCEI voiced the necessity of a thorough reform of the contest in order to take into account the area of its influence. The above motion was also included in the operational program of Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry for 2015, adopted by the decision of the General Meeting of PCEI on June 2, 2015, and in Board activities in the following months of this year. During the Winder Convention of PCEI held in Ryn on November 25-27, a program debate took place, a part of which was the debate on PCEI contests which promote exhibiting. It was stressed that the market of exhibiting services had changed and the previous form of the Stand of the Year contest, organized by PCEI between 1998 and 2014, was inadequate for the current situation. Companies which design and construct exhibition stands nowadays do not limit their portfolio only to exhibition stands. They also often make expositions for events other than trade fairs and exhibitions. They include all forms of company events, product launches, shows or press meetings, which are held both indoors and outdoors. The debate in Ryn showed that the original idea of the Stand of the Year contest had greatly evolved over the years (one could event call it a revolution), both in terms of assumptions and the manner of organizing the contest, and consequently new rules were formulated which govern the rules of presentation of awards by PCEI in the exhibition and event sector. Therefore the Board of PCEI, during the meeting on November 27, 2015 in Ryn, saw the need to discontinue the contest in its previous form and made a resolution to close it on November 27, 2015, and to create a new contest bearing the name Exposition of the Year . Not just exhibitions Thus the new Exposition of the Year contest is the response to the needs of the market. The new contest categories are a complete novelty. Just like before, the companies which design and construct expositions will be able to submit exposition they developed at exhibitions in the finishing calendar year. However, they will be assessed in two separate categories: up to 50 sq. m. and above 50 sq. m. The third, completely new category, will be event expositions developed both indoors and outdoors. Companies will be able to use this category to submit their works which were not designed and constructed for the needs of trade fairs and exhibitions. Just like before, in all three categories the jury will present 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Source: Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry, December 4, 2015.