my take on this for what it's worth is that people will attend a world round only if they want to, not out of duty. I happen to want to attend because I think a combination of the venue, Martin Lampkin's section plotting ability and Jake's organisational skills should make for a great event.
I'm also enthused by watching the last couple of rounds on Sky - I think the tight time limit in the sections has made for better viewing. When you compare it with last year most of the extra time allowed in sections was used for balancing anyway. I have nothing like the experience of Jake or Andy, but I've been to the majority of UK rounds since Bainbridge in 82/83. The least enjoyable of those was Carlisle - i just found the sections incredibly samey with a splat, turn, gap, dropoff being used over and over.
With regard to