MILAN, Italy—Mido’s 46th edition closed its three-day exhibition here late last month with organizers reporting a new all-time record attendance of over 52,000 visitors, an increase of 7 percent over the 2015 show.

The three-day international Mido optical fair, held Feb. 27 to 29 here at the Rho Center, also saw a rise in the number of exhibitors, a total of 1,200, with 106 new entries. The show’s More! Area, which featured new and first-time eyewear companies, was well received by attendees, show organizers added.

In addition to the new More! satellite area, the show’s sections included: the Design Lab, which hosts innovative and emerging companies; the Fashion District, the exclusive space that hosts the world’s top players and the small and medium companies that get inspiration from the world of fashion; Lenses, for the leaders of the lens sector; Tech, the world’s largest exhibition area dedicated to machinery, raw materials and components; the FAIR East Pavilion, an exclusive area for the most important Asian companies; and Otticlub, dedicated to eyecare professionals, with a special area for seminars, conferences, courses and educational meetings.

“Our challenge was not just to repeat the success of last year,” commented Cirillo Marcolin, president of Mido, “but to try and do more. Thanks to participation and input from all the companies, buyers and media who confirmed their confidence in us, we have once again managed to reaffirm the world leadership position of this big event. The quality of products, events and guests we saw at Mido are proof of the excellent results we have achieved again this year.

“Feedback from exhibitors,” added Giovanni Vitaloni, vice president of Mido, “says it all about the positive, proactive mood that dominated at this edition, strengthening our conviction that continual, relentless dedication to research and scouting for new businesses is the right way to go.”

Exhibitor InSpecs, which modeled their booth after an English pub, took First place in the Mido BESTAND award, voted on by visitors through the show’s mobile app.

Mido’s BESTORE Award returned at the show this year, with an international jury selecting their choices for “best optical shop in the world.” This year, First place went to Steingasse 14, from Heidelberg, Germany; Second place to L’Osservatorio, Milan, Italy, and Third place to Black Optical, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mido 2016 was also more social: compared to previous editions, organizers said they saw a 100 percent increase in exhibition-related content and interaction on social platforms. The official hashtag #MIDO2016 was featured in over 10,000 Instagram posts and Tweets, and since the opening of the event the number of Facebook fans has increased by more than 2,000.