By silicon.com, 5 May 2004 12:00
NEWS 05.05.99:The IT Directors Forum (ITDF) - the annual conference for senior IT personnel held on board P&O ship Oriana - has been called off.
Richmond Events, the organisers of the ITDF, contacted silicon.com yesterday to say that a refit being carried out by P&O had taken longer than expected. As a result, the two-day conference, due to set sail from Southampton on Thursday evening, had to be scrapped.
Neil Tait, project manager at Richmond Events, said: "We are urgently contacting our delegates and exhibitors to let them know the situation.
05.05.04: As excuses for cancelling a conference go, it's right up there with the best of them. In 1999 such unforeseen circumstances were pretty much the only reason a conference would be shelved - whereas two years later poor attendances, lack of funding, lack of vendor interest and international terrorism and the associated fear of travel were all leading to the cancellation of shows worldwide.
For anybody who has ever been, the IT Directors Forum is a curious attraction. The swimming pool on the Oriana is drained and the TV channels are all switched off to ensure nobody gets distracted from the business of networking.
Vendors pay to be put on tables with journalists and the whole two-day experience has become a regular feature in most high-tech execs' diaries.
This year's event sets sail on 12 May and silicon.com will be stowing-away in the lifeboats to bring you coverage of the conference.
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