Alfa Romeo UK will be at the heart of this weekend's Italian lifestyle exhibition - Viva Italia - being held at Earl's Court, London.

Viva Italia is set to be the first ever major UK show, which is dedicated solely to Italy, and which is aimed exclusively at the British market. The event - which opens tomorrow and will run until Sunday evening - promises to be a glamorous celebration of Italian fashion and design, arts and crafts, food and wine, travel and tourism, interior design and properties, football and fast cars, cinema and classical music - all under one roof, the world famous Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in heart of that most cosmopolitan of cities, London.

Thus Viva Italia will welcome thousands of visitors with a passion for Italy and all things Italian, and - with its interactive shows and free cinema (nine oscar-winning films will be shown) - provide a real day out. Into this strong mix comes Alfa Romeo UK, with their stunning line-up of sporty cars, which effortlessly empitomise traditional Italian values of style, flair, panache and a sense of individuality, and which without, no show focusing on Italian culture, would be complete.
 

"Viva Italia is simply an ideal event for Alfa Romeo to be associated with," says Alfa Romeo UK Marketing Manager, Roland Ellison. "It fits into our programme of making car buyers aware of Alfa Romeo's values, and what we have to offer. Slotting our brand into events that neatly sum up our core values, allows people - who we find already have a strong and positive perception of our brand - to actually see that Alfa Romeo is a genuine and exciting alternative, a car to fulfil both their rational needs and emotional desires and one that they should earnestly consider."

This point was amply born out earlier this month when the highly respected market research organisation - Harris Interactive - conducted extensive new research to understand clearly the values that adult consumers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain associate with twenty one of the world's major automobile brands, ahead of the firm's attendance at the 61st Frankfurt IAA (Motor Show) in Germany, which is currently taking place. The survey threw up an astoundingly strong result in that a third of the European adults surveyed by Harris Interactive believe that the Alfa Romeo name conveys a sense of freedom to consumers, a result which put the Italian 'sporty' marque clearly ahead of its next rival.

It's no surprise to Roland Ellison though. "Alfa Romeo simply has an unrivalled rich history and set of achievements that others can only envy. When we ask, people do comfortably identify with our cars, and respond very positively when we put them into a one-to-one position with the models in our range," he adds, before concluding, "we expect Viva Italia - which promises to be a real melting pot of Italian lifestyle and values - this weekend to continue this positive trend."

Viva Italia runs from 23rd-25th September 2005, at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, London. For comprehenive show information visit www.vivaitaliashow.com or call the ticket booking hotline on 0870 013 0737. For more information on Alfa Romeo's range visit www.alfaromeo.co.uk