There are just five months to go to the opening of the 5th Natural Stone Show & NAMM Tradex (5-7 March 2002) in London\'s new ExCeL exhibition centre in London\'s Docklands. More than 150 exhibitors will greet an expected 4,500 visitors at the biennial event.

For Natural Stone Show 2002 a range of new features and events have been added to make a visit to the Stone Show a valuable and productive experience.

Firstly, in conjunction with the Stone Federation Great Britain, there is a \'Stone Village\', which will bring together Stone Federation members to promote the British stone industry as represented by the Federation.

The Village will be one of the highlights of the Natural Stone Show and is being professionally designed to give an individual image that will stand out from the rest of the Show.

Included in the Village will be a business lounge, in which visitors can meet and talk with exhibitors in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. There will also be an advisory booth, with experts on hand to answer technical questions visitors may have about specifying stone.

This unique Stone Village will showcase the best products and services the Stone Federation members have to offer.

Jane Buxey, Director of Stone Federation, commented: Stone Federation is delighted that this exciting initiative at the Natural Stone Show 2002 will give the Federation a real presence and ensure that all our members can exhibit together, giving architects and specifiers a one-stop shop for information and services.

Stone Federation will also be staging a Stone in the City seminars at the show on Wednesday, 6 March. These CPD-approved events are specifically to help architects, designers, clients, surveyors and engineers to choose and use natural stone.

There will be a number of other free seminars concentrating on key issues in the stone industry. In particular for 2002 there will be a series of talks, on Tuesday 5 March, on restoration, conservation and cleaning.

And, on Thursday 7 March, there will be an Architects Day featuring a talk by the architect of ExCeL, Mike Moxley of Moxley Architects.

The ExCeL exhibition centre was a project that comprised a series of architectural feats and construction firsts. It broke records by becoming the largest single roofed structure in the UK and the largest single building for the events industry. There will be an opportunity to tour the venue.

Incorporated into the Architects Day will be talks by other leading architects. There will be a number of time slots allocated throughout the day to meet exhibitors and view the exhibits in the exhibition hall.

Mark Palmer, managing director of Resources Exhibitions, who manage the Natural Stone Show for Natural Stone Specialist, says: The three days between 5 and 7 March 2002 will provide an ideal opportunity for the natural stone industry to showcase itself at a truly international venue, ExCeL.

The importance of an international platform for the UK stone industry cannot be stressed enough and we are looking forward to producing this exciting event."

Visitors who pre-register by 25 February will receive a personalised badge, a free catalogue, and a £5 subscription discount for Natural Stone Specialist magazine and a £5 voucher redeemable against the purchase of the new edition of the Natural Stone Directory.

For further details contact the Stone Show office, or pre-register for the Show on line.