They may have their secrets, but even magicians have to share them sometimes.

And the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (International

Federation of Magic Societies, or FISM) did just that at its triennial convention in Beijing.

This year, it managed a little more than legerdemain by becoming the first major international event to test the much-vaunted, retro-fitted China National Convention Center (CNCC). It was only the second sortie of FISM outside Europe in its 60-year history.

At the end of six days, when all the rabbits

on the job and only at the end of the convention did they acquire some of the experience they so desperately needed at the beginning.”

Nor was it without difficulties on a personal level.

“There was no close brotherhood of magicians as there should have been,” commented Eswin. “The local president and board members are not magicians but public servants. So there was no internal attachment by the local board members with FISM. The ground-staff were employees of the China Acrobats Association and inexperienced in magic convention organising.

“Of course the Chinese organisers wanted

had been returned to their hats, the general consensus of the delegates was that it had been a good convention. But it might have been even better under the guidance of a professional convention organiser.

International president Eric Eswin of the Netherlands, summarised: “We didn’t have problems, that’s the wrong word. I would say that there were hurdles to overcome. Working without a PCO shows in mis-spent energy and also in the total quality of the organisation.

“Don't misunderstand me, all the staff in Beijing worked very, very hard and with great dedication. They did a tremendously good job and deserve every respect. But they were training

48_ami|November 2009

CASE HISTORY

The Chinese love fireworks and now they know a thing or two about wizardry and convention organising as well, thanks to the Federation of Magical Societies. Report by Rob Spalding

Magic in Beijing

Magic in Beijing case history.indd 1 10/11/2009 09:15

>> Magic in Beijing

November 2009 |ami_49

Left: Magic showInset: A Chinese female magician gets in on the actBelow right: Eric Eswin in action

to put their stamp on this convention and local flavour is one of the attractive elements of having your championships in different countries. But at times our hosts had to be reminded that they were not organising a China Promotion Festival.

“Despite these differences of opinion, the Chinese organisers are to be praised for their strong governmental support and their abundant supply of dedicated workers.”

However, back on the show floor, the best of the sleight-of-handers were not only performing for the 2,200 skilled delegates from 55 countries and members of the public, but also competing against each other for the magic wand of

wizardry, the FISM World Championships, the Olympic Games of prestidigitation.

Eric Eswin is head of a society which was founded more than 60 years ago and today has in membership 82 clubs, national and international, as well as national federations, representing over 50,000 magicians in 44 countries.

“My job, as international president, together with my two International Vice-Presidents, Domenico Dante from Italy and Gerrit Brengman from Belgium, was to oversee that the WCM upheld FISM's spirit, general philosophy, atmosphere and ethics. The FISM is responsible for the TV coverage and, of course, the competition management.”

The CNCC was highly lauded for providing so many staging areas, with set-ups for complex magic shows and acrobatic performances in the ballroom, the auditorium and two separate parts of the plenary hall.

CNCC CEO Mr. Haiying Liu took pride in the praise. “As the largest and newest congress venue in mainland China, CNCC broke through the bottleneck of inability to hold large scale professional standard congresses and is keeping up closely with hot international industry trends.”

Ten plasma screen viewing areas in foyers

became World Champions of Magic 2009.For registered delegates, professional insights

into the secrets of their art were given by internationally renowned magicians including Victor Voitko of Ukraine, Shoot Ogawa of Japan, Jeff McBride and Mac King of the USA, Juan Tamariz of Spain, Henry Evans of Argentina, Topas of Germany and Lennart Green of Sweden.

Master Magician Topas volunteered: “I really feel very, very content as we can have the rehearsals, performances, salon, exhibition, lectures and so on all under the same roof. And I have to tell you, the food is excellent!”

allowed ad hoc audiences to see the stage performances.

In fact, the content leaked out even further as CCTV (China Central Television) broadcast 100 minutes of the show every day throughout China.

Throughout the six-day show, foyers, lecture theatres, auditoria were all alive with deftness and dexterity as the conjurors, in 100 performances, contended for two special prizes: the Close-up and Stage awards.

At the end of a dizzying round of appearances and disappearances, Canada’s Shawn Faquar walked off with the close up and the brilliant Soma of Hungary took the stage final. Both

The Chinese repaid the compliment by entertaining their guests with high-class opera singers, acrobats and musicians at a welcome dinner and an exquisite banquet during the week.

And of course, the Chinese organising committee took its responsibilities very seriously indeed. It lined up four presidents (among whom was the Minister of Culture), four vice-presidents, six members and seven directors of departments of the team.

During the Magic Fair and the Magic Salon, 65 dealers in magician’s paraphernalia showcased new tricks of the trade, surprising delegates as the booths themselves became mini shows. ami

“Working without a PCO shows in the mis-spent energy and also in the total quality of the organisation” — eric eswin, international president, FiSM

Magic in Beijing©

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