Publisher and events company Media 10 has apologised for the presence of "inappropriately dressed" promotional models at this year's UK Construction Week, following social media criticism from industry figures.
Four female actors in "Vegas show girl" outfits presented awards and posed for photographs with visitors to UK Construction Week (UKCW), which took place from 10-12 October 2017 in Birmingham.
The women were employed as part of a Vegas-themed stand created by event sponsor Easy-Trim, a manufacturer of roofing ventilation and dry fix products.
It attracted heavy criticism from architects and industry figures, who questioned whether using women to sell products was appropriate in an industry struggling to promote equality. Media 10 was forced to issue a statement of apology. Events director Nathan Garnett insisted that UKCW does not condone the "use of promotional models", but said this particular instance had slipped through the net.
"None of us want to return to the days where promotional models were used as marketing method to attract visitors to exhibition stands," he told Dezeen, in a statement later published on the event's website.
"The use in this instance was described to us as part of the overall theme, along with Elvis and other stage-dressed actors."
Critics of the Easy-Trim stand included London Festival of Architecture director Tamsie Thomson and Denton Corker Marshall partner Angela Dapper.

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