Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, the fair and trade show calendar world wide is riddled with postponements and cancellations. There are a few bright spots, but they are very few and far between. At least till now. However, since things seem to be looking up, and because we would prefer to be better informed and prepared, we are trying to keep ourselves and everyone around us, abreast of the latest happenings in the exhibition scene. So we decided to restart our postings on the next set of exhibitions that are planned.
Here goes:
1. Interpack, Dusseldorf, scheduled from the 25th of Feb 2021 till the 3rd of March 2021, unfortunately stands cancelled. One of the biggest fairs of its kind, for the packaging industry, probably tried its best to stay afloat, but succumbed for this year to the pandemic. No news, as yet has been shared for new dates. The website only says that the show has been cancelled for this year. Better luck next time!
2. Tire Technology Expo, Hannover, scheduled from the 2nd of March 2021 till the 4th of March 2021 initially, it has been postponed to June. The new schedule of the fair is from the 8th of June till the 10th of June 2021. In its 21st year now, the Tire Technology Expo is Europe's most important tire manufacturing technology exhibition and conference.
3. IAW, Cologne, one of the most important fairs, anywhere in the world, for promotional items, which was initially scheduled for March 2021, has now been postponed to April / May. Concrete dates have not been announced yet, as more discussions and deliberations are underway (as per the organizers). However, once the green signals are received from the authorities, and once this pandemic is under control to the extent that international travel is a reality, the concrete dates will be announced, and hopefully this will be a major physical event.
4. International Dental Show, Cologne, again a very important fair for the dental care industry, this is held once every three years, and this year it was scheduled to be held from the 9th till the 13th of March 2021. However, obviously, now in view of the havoc wreaked by the corona virus, it now stands postponed. New dates have also been announced. The fair will now be held from the 22nd till the 25th of Sept 2021.
5. ITB Berlin, another one of those must-attend fairs, especially for the tours, travel and MICE industry folks, scheduled for the 9th till the 12th of March 2021, is planned to be a virtual event. So you can now attend it for a fraction of the cost, from the luxury of your home. Although, I am not much in favor of virtual events, especially because virtual events mean losses for me and other people associated with the design and fabrication of stalls at exhibitions, but this is one of those fairs where a virtual event might actually be just as good as a physical one. Frankly, nothing can replace a human to human interface, but maybe the carbon footprint that gets reduced by virtual events, balances out the missing human touch to it. Do let me know your thoughts on this. I am genuinely interested in finding out!
6. ECS, Nuremberg, the last of the major events scheduled for March 2021, this one caters to the paints and coatings industry, and is widely respected through out the world. It sees exhibitor participation and visitor attendance from all over the world. Initially scheduled from the 22nd till the 24th of March 2021, it too stands postponed. The new schedule says that it will be held from the 14th till the 16th of Sept 2021.
We wish all of you a great start to the year, and enough success to more than compensate for the losses, if any, incurred last year. We hope that this will also see the transition from uncertain dates, postponements and cancellations, and virtual events to certainty about trade fair dates and physical events with all the associated enthusiasm!
