very organisation has experienced the impact of coronavirus , but there are few whose empty agenda has so much impact on an entire city . RAI Amsterdam started 2020 with the forecast that it would have the best year ever , yet came to a complete standstill .

Bas Dalm , director of commerce at RAI Amsterdam , says the past year has been quite an emotional rollercoaster for his organisation , with digital opportunities created through trial and error . He is looking ahead with confidence , however , to the future of online , blended and live events .

So , how was the past period at the RAI for Dalm ?

“ It was awful . You close assuming it will take a few weeks , but it went from bad to worse . The closure not only affected us , but also about 2,500 jobs and three million flex hours in Amsterdam and the surrounding area . Very poignant . We had to reorganise and that has been a painful process , not least because the laws and regulations require you to let good people go that you would

prefer to keep .

“ We have developed many initiatives to help not only ourselves , but also Amsterdam , however . We have made our kitchens available at the ROC in Amsterdam , so that catering and hospitality students can gain practical experience now that the catering industry has come to a halt and the college classrooms are too small to maintain sufficient distance .”

Dine in a bubble Staying with the catering theme , and ‘ Het Smakenrad ’ is a catering concept that allows clients to enjoy food and drinks on a Ferris wheel in their own bubble . It was opened for just two days last autumn but is ready to re-open in the RAI forecourt as soon as the weather permits .

The RAI has one hall full of inflatables for children ’ s enjoyment and , in collaboration with partners , the team has developed ‘ The Stage is Yours ’ plug and play concept in which 1,100 people can come together ‘ corona-proof ’ for their event . “ So far we are held back by

rules and measures at every turn ,” says Dalm . “ It is a pity , because we want to help and show that events can take place safely .”

There are , however , also some great initiatives emerging from this period . “ The digitisation of events was on our agenda to tackle in the next three to four years ,” Dalm notes . “ Now that has been rushed through in five months . We went through a learning curve at an accelerated pace .”

Dalm adds that the RAI team has been busy online and lists the speedy development of two state-of-the-art studios , one aimed at webcasting and interviews and the other for television broadcasts . “ More than 150 broadcasts have already been broadcast in the latter ,” he says .

What distinguishes the RAI studios from the others in the country ?

“ There are many studios in the Netherlands , but we offer the great advantage of being an event location used to working with protocols from an organisational point of view . In addition , we offer the bridge with physical events , so that you can go blended . Furthermore , we stand for high quality . We are a Champions League-level studio , both technically and operationally . If enormous bandwidth is required for a globally streamed event , that is no problem for us . And numerous green screen studios or breakout studios can also be installed with us .”

In terms of specific platforms , Dalm says the clients are , of course , free to choose but that the RAI ’ s thorough testing had led to a preference for working with Gripp . “ That platform offers many opportunities for interaction

“ The digitisation of events was on our agenda to tackle in the next 3-4 years . Now that has been rushed through in five months .”

Above : Bas Dalm , director commerce RAI Amsterdam

Left : RAI ’ s studio has welcomed 150 broadcasts already