Erotica was an adult, consumer exhibition held each November at
Olympia, London
Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of international ...
, UK. A mainstream "lifestyle show" aimed primarily at women and couples, it encouraged visitors to celebrate or re-kindle their relationships with goods and services aimed to enhance their love lives. Erotica's organisers claimed that it was the world's largest lifestyle show "for freethinking adults who are comfortable with their sexuality". Erotica cancelled its 2014 show and has not taken place since.
Exhibitors, including many small- to medium-sized companies and sole traders, offered
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
,
corsetry
A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier (male) and corsetière (female).
Stay-maker is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker.
The best corsetmakers are highl ...
,
lingerie
Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
,
shoes
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
, jewellery, art, photography, sculpture,
adult toys
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...
, games, books, DVDs, furniture and romantic gifts. Popular free entertainment included stage shows that ran several times each day (produced by London's
Torture Garden),
Dreamboys
Dreamboys is a male revue brand with touring theatre shows and nightclub residencies. Dreamboys is known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive toned physiques. The brand currently perform in excess of 600 shows p ...
, entertainers that wandered among the crowds, workshops and demonstrations (including
glamour photography
Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For Model (person)#Glamour models, glamour models, body sha ...
, bodycasting, and
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. classes), and a team of
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
sexual health advisors offering free advice,
condoms
A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of inte ...
, and
chlamydia
Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several wee ...
testing. Erotica was keen to promote safe, respectful and responsible sex, and welcomed visitors of all sexual orientations – straight,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
, and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
.
History
Erotica's first show was at
Olympia London
Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of internation ...
, in 1997
and was an annual event there every November thereafter. Erotica Manchester had its first show at the
G-Mex Centre
Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, Engl ...
in March 2003 but ticket sales were poor in 2005
despite attempts the previous year to attract visitors by having former
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Member of Parliament
Neil Hamilton promote the event and the organisers did not return.
Previous shows
Erotica 2013 was held on 25–27 October 2013 at
Tobacco Dock
Tobacco Dock is a Grade I listed warehouse located in the East London district of Wapping, and thereby the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Part of the London Docks designed by Scottish civil engineer and architect John Rennie, the warehouse was ...
in London.
Notes
External links
*
Erotica 2009(London Pixels photo set)
Erotica 2008(London Pixels photo set)
Erotica 2007(London Pixels photo set)
Erotika UK 2010at Bvents.Com
Erotic events
Conventions in the United Kingdom
1997 establishments in the United Kingdom
Recurring events established in 1997
{{UK-festival-stub