Interview:

Erotica 2004 is just around the corner, and we caught up with festival boss Savvas Chrisodoulou (pictured above with Christine and Neil Hamilton) to ask him a few saucy questions.

How long have you been running the Erotica festival, and what’s the history behind it?
First show was at Olympia in November 1997. The event was in reality intended to be my research into the adult industry. At that time little was known about who was in the industry and what they did - hence the research required. However, at the end of the first event it seemed to be a good business in itself and we have stuck with it and expanded considerably.

How would you describe the festival to first timers?
Erotica is aimed at free thinking adults who are comfortable with their sexuality and wish to explore visit the event with their partner and find ways of improving their love life.

What has been the biggest change (in attitude, fashion etc) over the years since Erotica first started at Olympia?
Since the first show attitudes to ’sex’ generally in the country have changed. More open - this is healthy and positive. We feel that Erotica has played a significant part in the ’mini sexual revolution’ and our event is now accepted by the ’establishment’ and the press barons. We held our first annual dinner at the House of Commons to emphasize the point that what we do is both normal and natural.

Do you think the festival has moved far away from the ’dirty mac’ image?
Our own event has never been associated with the ’dirty mac’ brigade, unlike some of the other big events in Europe and USA. From the outset we adopted the stance that the female in a normal heterosexual relationship makes the key decisions in what to buy or do - just like in the biggest purchase decisions of buying a house or a car. Ignore the woman’s point of view at your peril! Consequently we have always targeted women and couples to attend the Erotica event. This has made us the world’s most attended event (four times bigger than our nearest rival) with an average spend per head in 2003 of £195 - that is massive when you consider 65,000 visitors.

Over the past years there have been some raunchy shows that have been banned or stopped by the police (so I have read, anyway!). Is it a fine line between something that is ’erotic’ and something that could cause offence?
There is always a very fine line between erotic and seedy and we tread this line very carefully. The idea of shows being banned / censored is more to do with our PR officer getting press coverage than reality!

What do you find erotic?
In public the ’hint of what to expect’ is much more erotic than full nudity. In private, I leave it to your imagination!

What can we expect to see at this year’s festival that will be different from last year?
More of everything plus a significant increase in foreign exhibitors who have identified, through the success of Erotica, just how raunchy the Brits are.