By Dave Alexander

Mark Evans… you’ve created a monster.

A monster of a dive show, that is. It’s hard to believe just how fast the GO Diving Show has grown since its inaugural outing back in 2019. Mark and his team have done something the previous UK dive show organisers never did; they’ve listened to the industry and have taken on board what their exhibitors want, and hat’s off to them – they’ve delivered.

Carpet, for example. I know, I know – having a carpet down doesn’t seem like that much of a big deal. But aesthetically, it really elevates the professionalism of the show (and your dogs won’t be barking quite as much as they would have been had you been traipsing around on a concrete floor all day; many of the exhibitors I spoke to were extremely grateful for that). There were black drapes on the walls which hid the sterile-looking breeze blocks the building is made of. These simple additions make a real difference, both to exhibitors and the show’s visitors. It just looks better.

As usual, the Go Diving Show 2025 featured an army of speakers who entertained, educated, and inspired the show’s visitors across several stages. TV presenters and adventurers Steve Backshall and Andy Torbet were among the highlights. Backshall, known for his passion for wildlife and adventure, captivated the audience with his talk, sharing his thrilling experiences and diving expeditions. Torbet, renowned for his adventurous spirit, delivered a compelling presentation titled “Technical Diving on the Telly,” where he explored the challenges of showcasing technical diving on television and the unique perspectives it offers. Monty Halls, known for his conservation work, introduced his “Big Blue Bag” citizen science project, encouraging the audience to contribute to marine conservation. Meanwhile, Dr. Dawn Kernagis spoke about the future of human subsea habitation, giving an insightful look into the advancements in underwater living. In the photo and inspiration sessions, Ellen Cuylaerts shared her incredible adventures from remote locations, emphasizing the importance of dive safety with DAN membership, while Jane Morgan wowed the crowd with her stunning photography of native marine species in “Supermodels of the Sea.” These speakers, among many others, contributed to a diverse and inspiring lineup that offered something for everyone. In addition to the speakers, other entertainment over the weekend included a Mermaid pool, which proved very popular with families, breath-hold workshops, virtual reality diving, an on-land wreck survey, and more.

If you went to the show to book a dive holiday, you had plenty of options. There were dive centres, resorts, and liveaboards from all over the world exhibiting at this year’s show, with dive specialist tour operators offering full packages at some great dive show prices. The Caribbean, in particular, had a strong presence, with the Bahamas, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, and Cuba all with stands in close proximity to each other (reminiscent of the Caribbean Village at the old dive shows in Birmingham. Who remembers the steel band that rocked up to do their thing every year?). It was good to see Gibraltar there too, and as ever, Malta and Gozo were there in force.

New kids on the block, DYNAMICNORD, were in attendance to show off their full product line for the very first time. For those who were impressed by the new company’s offerings, all they had to do was walk to the next stand, where the Scuba Dive Store team were selling DYNAMICNORD products. By all accounts, they had a great weekend, so congratulations to both parties.

While on the subject of manufacturers, it was great to see Cressi exhibiting at Go Diving. I can’t remember the last time they exhibited at a UK show! XDEEP were there showing off their customisation system for their wings (which is seriously impressive – check it out), and Sea & Sea were on hand to present their endless line of products (do you guys even sleep?!?), including Huish brands like Oceanic, Hollis, Atomic, Stahlsac, and Zeagle. Otter Drysuits had a great weekend – JJ and his team were rushed off their feet measuring divers up for drysuits, while Peter and the rest of the Miflex team, who were sharing a stand with Otter, were there previewing the latest offering from Miflex, KUBI, and the simply adorable reg bags from Oceanarium. Other manufacturers and distributors at the show included Mares, Fourth Element, AP Diving, Garmin, Hammond Drysuits, Custom Divers, and more. Suunto didn’t have a stand themselves, but their team could be found on the Andark Diving stand to assist divers with any questions about their products. Noticeably absent this year were industry giants Scubapro and Aqua Lung, who hopefully will return to the fold next year.

There was a great showing from the training agencies this year too, with PADI, SSI, BSAC, RAID, NAUI, and SDI/TDI all in attendance. I, like many others in the industry, hope they all had the chance to get together and discuss how they can work together to get more young people into the sport. Because it became quite apparent over the weekend that we are an aging industry, with very few young people coming through to carry the torch. There were so many familiar faces, but their hair had changed… everyone’s going grey! Someone needs to tell the kids that diving is cool, and the general consensus seems to be that it’s the responsibility of the training agencies to at least lead the charge on this. But that’s a conversation for another time.

In terms of crowd numbers, the show seemed packed on the Saturday, and most of the exhibitors I spoke to said they had an excellent day. Sunday was quieter in the morning, and like every other dive show I have ever been to (and over 19 years, that’s a LOT), it kind of died off in the afternoon, which was a shame as the last talk of the day, with an impressive lineup of the show’s speakers all on the stage together – including Steve Backshall and Monty Halls – had one of the smallest audiences of the whole weekend.

All in all though, Mark and the rest of the Go Diving Show team did themselves and the rest of the UK dive industry proud this weekend. The show had a fantastic vibe and judging from social media today, a lot of the show’s visitors had a great time. There’s a lot of love out there for GO Diving Show, and it’s well deserved.

Well done, Mark. We’re all looking forward to what you and the team cook up for us in 2026.

In our last blog we talked about why the Shark Trust had been in The Bahamas in December. With the underwater part of the expedition focused on getting 360 footage for a new immersive shark experience, OneOcean360: A Shark Story, that will be launched later this year. Now, let’s tell you a little bit more about the diving we did, along some more surprising shark sightings!

The Shark Trust 3-island expedition, which was fully funded and supported by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, started in Nassau. And we were booked to do 2 days of diving with Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas. We packed in as much diving as possible, leaving as soon as the boat was loaded and returning as the sun was setting, covering 7 dive sites over the 2 days, with a mix of reef and wrecks to ensure we got as much varied footage as possible.

Pumpkin Patch saw us hang out with a very chilled turtle while Caribbean Reef Sharks swam along the drop off beside us. We visited a “wreck” structure built for the filming of a James Bond film that was now covered in bright corals and home to a multitude of reef fish. Steel Forest saw us diver some “proper” wrecks that have been sunk alongside each other. Glass fish swirled under overhangs and larger fish hung motionless in the wheelhouse. Southern Sting rays lay buried in the sandy seabed alongside. Our final dive of the day, as the sun started to set, Ridges, combined a reef and wreck where we caught a fleeting glimpse of a Bull Shark as we ascended the line. It was a great diving day that gave us the perfect introduction to the underwater world of The Bahamas.

Our second day was going to focus on getting close up footage of Caribbean Reef Sharks on both wrecks and reef. The Ray of Hope and Big Crabs wrecks are perfect for this. With our guide placing bait boxes inside the wrecks to attract the sharks, and with our cameras setup on the wreck structure, we could back away and let the sharks do their thing without us disturbing them or being in the 360 filming frame. With clear water and plenty of sharks, the footage we came away with in pretty striking.

Next stop: Bimini. Great Hammerhead Sharks are the number one attraction here. And we were able to join Neal Watsons Bimini Scuba for a 2-tank dive with these magnificent sharks, along with the Nurse Sharks that like to join in with the experience. But we were also able to snorkel with juvenile Lemon Sharks in the Mangroves, see Bull Sharks and spotted eagle rays from a submarine experience and from the dock side. Our second day of diving saw us dive the SS Sapona wreck and then experience the Caribbean Reef Sharks on the reef. Bimini really does allow you to pack in a load of shark and ray experiences in a short space of time.

Finally, we headed to Grand Bahama. Whilst much of our time was spent above the water meeting people working to conserve different marine habitats (watch this space for more information on this) – we did manage to squeeze in a couple of dives on the reefs here and were delighted to see both Caribbean Reef Shark and Southern Stingrays on both. Our final shark and ray experience saw us take a tour to Sandy Cay with Keith Cooper. We were able to get footage of stingrays, lemon and blacktip reef sharks on the seagrass and over the sandy seabed. Sometimes just in ankle deep water.

If you are heading to the Go Diving Show – then you will be able to see a short 360 film, using our VR headsets, that shows many of these experiences. Please come and say hello to the Shark Trust team on the Diverse Travel stand (340). We will also be on The Bahamas stand twice a day to chat to people about our experiences on the islands. And Diverse travel will have special offers on travel to The Bahamas should you want to follow in our fin-kicks.

To find out more about the work of he Shark Trust and how you can support us, visit out website www.sharktrust.org