used for the first time at an event at IFEMA Madrid , had to remove this technology and leave only 4G . Similarly , in Pavilion 12 there could be no mobile coverage or Wi-Fi , but at the same time very close to the pavilion it was necessary for some of the delegations to use it . Carlos Jiménez says :. “ We had to ensure that in one space there was no signal and in another very close by there was , and that is complicated . With the mobile phone operators , thanks to the contacts we have , we were able to calibrate the signal in real time at each moment and in each place .”

all the material would have arrived ,” Ana Carrazón tells us .

IFEMA Madrid was not the only venue where cybersecurity had to be taken care of , but many public bodies supported the cybersecurity tasks and teamwork is what stood out .

The Summit was the event with the greatest concentration of telecommunication services held at IFEMA Madrid that wasn ’ t a trade fair . There were 2,600 network connections , with 86km of cable . Add in the streaming of the Press Conference Rooms , and you see why IFEMA Madrid had to reinforce the bandwidth and to do so with more than one provider .

Sustainability was also a feature of the production . Modular solutions with the ability for reuse were employed . “ More than 90 % of everything used was of local origin and close to the location , non-local items were of an exceptional nature , such as the two 30-metre circular trusses , of which there are very few in the world ”.

In terms of corporate responsibility , IFEMA Madrid donated to food banks more than 700 kilos of excess food from the restaurant services provided by EUREST Servicios Ferials . In addition , eight lemon trees and six olive trees , from among the more than 100 trees and plants that decorated the Summit , were given to be planted in the Moncloa gardens , as an environmental legacy of the Summit .

Last minute needs In last month the NATO refined some details , for example : what type of screens and where , and what content should be displayed . “ These types of details were important for providers such as PRG , RTVE and Overon . We knew about them with less margin than we anticipated ”, explains Carrazón .

At the last moment , although they tell us they already suspected it , there was a need to block mobile phone coverage in some areas of the event . Some of the 5G operators , a technology

Above : A VIP line-up in Madrid for NATO ’ s June Summit

“ More than 90 % of everything used was of local origin and close to the location ”

The keys to this project Collaboration and teamwork according to IFEMA Madrid , were the keys to the success of the event , as well as communication and trust with the client .

PRG and Servis says : “ The agenda changed daily , it was necessary to have the capacity for last minute responses and to be flexible in face of these changes in agenda .”

Tips from the team include : Get ahead and create up to Plan Z . Take note of possible situations that could happen and put many layers of protection in place in advance in case something goes wrong . For example : the connection for a video conference with Zelenskyy , the president of Ukraine , which was considered to be a key moment , had three back-ups .

Also , the ability to detect needs , and according to Ana and Carlos : “ To do things without anyone asking for them , nobody asked us to provide more walkie-talkies , we detected that they might be needed , so we obtained them ”. In the end , despite the context of scarce resources and the pandemic , the coordination efforts during those seven months , added to the proactivity of plans A , B and C , made it possible for IFEMA Madrid to deliver to the Presidency of the Government and NATO , five days before the Summit , a project that was a true reflection of everything that had been promised .