by , 2:55 PM EDT, September 16th, 2005

IDG World Expo on Friday announced that next year's Macworld Expo Boston has been cancelled. The company will instead focus on the January Macworld event in San Francisco, an IDG World Expo representative told MacCentral editor Jim Dalrymple.

The East coast Macworld show started in Boston but later shifted to New York City. Two years ago, it moved back to Boston, but Apple declined to follow suit. Macworld forged on without Apple's presence, but IDG World Expo spokesman Mike Sponseller told Mr. Dalrymple: "The marketplace and our own research have made it clear that the industry prefers one main industry event."

Mr. Dalrymple reported that Mr. Sponseller characterized the relationship between Apple and IDG World Expo as a "very good" one, with the two companies continuing to work closely "on every facet of the San Francisco event." MWSF 2006 will be held Jan. 9 to 13 at The Moscone Center.

Mr. Sponseller would not say whether IDG looked at the move to Boston as a mistake, however, commenting that "it was a strategic decision made by prior management."