Caribbean Village

The Caribbean Village offers a choice of diving destinations in that popular part of the world, infused with a heady mix of rum and steel-band music.   Alongside this the well-established PADI Village just keeps growing so you'll find a huge selection of holiday ideas and training options nestling under the agency's umbrella.

Long-haul divers may also like to head for the Asia-Pacific Showcase. If you fancy travelling anywhere from Thailand to Australia, exhibitors there will help you out and get you going.

This year’s speaker programme is bursting with diving celebrities.  You'll find an emphasis on wildlife presentations in Concourse Suite 1 over the course of the show, while if your tastes lie more towards wreck/tek, keep an eye on what's happening in Concourse Suite 2. Ideally, aim to sample the best of both. All the presentations are free of charge - we do spoil you!

Many of this year's speakers have been working on projects for TV, so look forward to sneak previews of some shows. Monty Halls will be showing footage from his next Great Ocean Adventures series, which airs next spring. The second part of the BBC blockbuster Planet Earth starts in November, and ace cameraman Peter Scoones will bring with him some new HD footage.

Miranda Krestovnikoff

Miranda Krestovnikoff has spent the summer working on the next series of Coast, with an emphasis on sharks in UK waters, while shark specialist Mike Rutzen has been touring the world to film with various species. Innes McCartney, meanwhile, has been working on a new series called Deep Wreck Mysteries.

Rounding off the seminar programme are cave diver Rick Stanton, wreck experts Leigh Bishop, Teresa Telus and Jack Ingle, as well as manta specialist Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler.

See it all first at the NEC.

Digital Clinic

If you've dived into the world of underwater photography but can't quite get that perfect shot, the Dive 2006 Digital Photo Clinic is here to help. The panel of experts includes some top practitioners - Dan Burton, Paul Kay and moderator John Bantin.