The Covid19 induced pandemic, has created havoc around the world. Whether it be in terms of loss of lives, or in terms of loss of livelihood, the losses are immense, and in quite a few cases irreversible. This is especially true for the exhibitions and events industries, as it is also for the travel, tourism, MICE, and many other related and unrelated industries. There has been a turnaround in some places, as they limp back to normal, but in this very connected and intrinsically wired world, unless everything heals, nothing can be considered normal.
Especially looking at the events and exhibitions industries, we can see some exhibitions taking place in the physical format, but they are mostly the smaller, less significant ones, or they are being organised at the smaller venues. A major turnaround which can witness an important exhibition being organised at a major venue, has as yet seemed pretty much elusive. There have been a lot of announcements, and things have appeared to look up, but then there has eventually been a postponement, a cancellation or in most cases a switch to a virtual platform. Its not as if the governments or the organizers can be blamed for this, but then that is how it really is.
It is in these very gloomy times, that an announcement from the Bavarian state government, in Germany, comes as a veritable beacon of hope. It turns out that the Bavarian state government is to allow the resumption of exhibition operations in the state from the 1st of September 2021. The first major exhibition that will be organized thereafter will be the European Coatings Show 2021 from the 14th till the 16th of September 2021, by the NurnbergMesse. This will be followed by the Fachpack 2021 show, from the 28th to the 30th of September 2021, again by NurnbergMesse. Both these fairs are very important events for their respective industry segments, and among the largest anywhere in the world.
Welcoming the move by the Bavarian government, which incidentally has been hailed widely as the right step in these very difficult times, the CEO of NurnbergMesse, Peter Ottman has said that not only his own company, but the service providers and partners associated with his company are all very well prepared for this planned restart. If the planned restart goes according to plan, this will prove to be a major push in the right direction for sure. One can only look forward to it with a lot of hope.
