Britain's first ever 'divorce fair' to cater for soaring numbers of couples splitting up

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:55 PM on 04th June 2008

• Comments (0)
• Add to My Stories

It has everything a couple at odds with each other could want - lawyers, financial advisers and even some pole dancers.

The only thing Britain's first divorce fair won't have is any suggestions on how to reduce the number of marriage breakdowns.

Organisers say the Starting Over Show will help couples make breaking up as painless as possible.

The event will be held in October in Brighton, where more than 20 per cent of couples divorce. The national average is 16 per cent.

Experts will include divorce lawyers, business advisers, health professionals and financial advisers.

There will be live music and a creche while the organisers also hope to have pole dancers - apparently to boost the self-esteem of the newly single.

Difficult time: The UK's first divorce fair aims to help separating couples break-up as painlessly as possible (picture posed by models)

But while legal advice will be offered, organisers insist there will be no exhibitors promoting DNA paternity testing or private detective work.

Event producer Suzy Miller said the fair may help people struggling with the credit crunch, who may to be too frightened to split because of financial fears.

Ms Miller, 44, said: 'I heard about a couple of fairs being held in Europe and wondered how something similar would go down in the UK, with the emphasis on three main things.

'That is to provide a great collaboration of lawyers, especially when children are involved, to provide good financial advice to take the fear out of the process and, importantly, to have motivational help to make it feel less doom-laden.

'From the people I have spoken to, they have said, "God I wish something like this was around when I broke up."

'There is a sense that there are a lot of people who have got to the other side but without the right support and advice, people can end up bitter and unhappy.

'Going through a break-up can be an extremely lonely time so we are placing a lot of emphasis on mind, body and soul to help people get through it.

'There will be a core of legal and financial professionals but there will also be live music, a chill-out room and a creche. And there will be an emphasis on well-being.'

Ms Miller said south coast towns suffer from some of the UK's highest divorce rates, making Brighton a fitting setting for such an event.

She added that the motivational exhibits on offer will also appeal to people going through mid-life crises or for those setting up their own businesses.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last year showed that the divorce rate in England and Wales had reached its lowest level since 1984.

The divorce rate for 2006 fell to 12.2 divorces per thousand married men and women, a drop of seven per cent compared with the 2005 figure of 13.1, the ONS said.

A spokesman for relationship counselling organisation Relate said: 'The more help and advice for people going through the divorce the better.'

Emma Brennan, a spokesman for the Family and Parenting Institute, said: 'We think that you cannot reduce divorce to a series of practical problems as it's an extremely painful experience for all involved, especially if couples have children.

'We want to see more effective and affordable marriage support networks and for them to be made more accessible, not just when people reach crisis point.'

The world's first divorce fair opened in Vienna, Austria, in October last year, under the slogan New Beginning, and attracted around 500 people and 20 exhibitors including private detective firms and DNA laboratories offering paternity tests.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iconocast is about learning and teaching without borders; we offer eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding, and eMarketing News Services.

Iconocast Home Page

Contact Iconocast

© 2003-07. ICONOCAST is a trademark of iconocast.com.