JUNE | OPINION
Sebastian Witt, jwc
Consulting
Germany’s government
recently separated
exhibitions from “mass
gatherings”. We check in
with German exhibition
consultant Sebastian Witt
to find out why
The current Covid-19
crisis, which has hit
many industries hard,
has also had an adverse effect on
the exhibition industry. Trade
association UFI estimates that
at least €134bn of contracts will
not be concluded in Q2 of 2020.
In Germany, exhibitions and
trade shows were amongst the
first group of events that were
placed under tight restrictions
from the national and regional
governments. Exhibitions
and trade shows, as well as
congresses, were generically
regarded as mass events. This
meant that they faced the same
ramifications and measures as
concerts, football games and
festivals.
The industry has fought
hard and successfully for
German policy makers
to differentiate between
exhibitions, trade shows and
congresses versus other events.
‘Grossveranstaltungen’ (mass
gatherings) remain banned until
31 August, while business events
will be continuing.
The key distinction is the
level of security the respective
form of event can offer all
participants. Necessary
health security measures at
concerts and football matches
(Bundesliga matches will take
place without visitors) are
difficult to implement and to
monitor. The exhibition and
congress industries have an
array of tools and mechanisms
at their disposal to ensure the
safety of exhibitors and visitors.
The most important
difference is exhibitions’
ability to manage space and
visitor flows throughout the
venue, whilst limiting attendee
numbers in individual halls.
This provides a level of security
that cannot be matched at other
mass events. Many German
What’s in
a name?
venues are now undergoing
substantial investments in
new safety measures to retain
exhibitor and visitor numbers.
Despite the effects of the virus
on the exhibitions industry,
there is a strong demand in
Germany to resume activities.
UFI has recently published a
list of guidelines to support
organisers and venues to meet
new safety standards. These
include but are not limited
to: mechanisms for social
distancing, crowd control,
and disinfection stations.
Individual venues have exceeded
the recommendations, too.
“Whether we will be able to change our
narrative as potentially risky mass events
will be a matter of language.”
Brussels Expo has invested
approximately €1.5m into
systems that can exterminate
bacteria and viruses in the air
using UV light.
Whether exhibitions will be
able to change their narrative
as potentially risky mass events
in the eyes of key stakeholders
will also be a matter of language.
Truth is perception and in
this way our industry should
acknowledge and communicate
the potential risks associated
with our events. At the same
time, we should be clear and
outspoken in communicating
the vast measures taken to
make our events safe.
The main goal of our industry
must be to prevent an outbreak
or contamination at any event.
The perception of events being
unsafe may be more detrimental
for our industry than the initial
effect of this crisis.
29