Exhibition News June 2020 | Page 5

Welcome Subscribe to EN for free today by visiting our website exhibitionnews.co.uk Saul Leese Editor Junior News Reporter Olivia Powell Production Manager Elizabeth Nixon Subscriptions Executive Matthew Williams Contact us Subscriptions 020 8481 1128 Editorial 020 8481 1152 Sales 020 8481 1122 Production & Design 020 8481 1132 Globe-Af exhibitionnews.co.uk � @exhibitionnews � Sales Director Paul King twitter- @exhibitionnews Published by Mash Media 2 nd Floor Apple Market House, 17 Union Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1RP. Publishing Director Duncan Siegle Exhibition News Magazine Imagining the new normal Every day there is news that one sector can re-open and another can return to work. While it is possible that we may be the last industry to be permitted to resume exhibitions, we do have the added luxury of being able to learn from other sectors as to how they have adapted their businesses to enable trading. In a matter of days, retailers will open up their doors to the public, and we have a chance to see how it works and replicate this on a larger scale for exhibitions. On 20 May, the global association of the exhibition industry, UFI, published its ‘re-entry plan’ showing how exhibitions can return safely. I studied their plan, all 30 points of it, and decided that while it was incredibly comprehensive, it was hard to visualise what this would ultimately look like. I set about dismantling it into various areas you see at an exhibition, and then briefed a stand design agency to come up the designs. This is only my interpretation of the plan, but I also showed the finished result to UFI, which went down well. I am also told that the Event Industry Alliance (AEO, ESSA and AEV) are closer to unveiling their version of the UFI plan that will no doubt have many similar points but also some additional ideas that will help organisers to prepare for the return of exhibitions. These ideas can only help in convincing government that when that time comes, we have a plan. I hope that by creating these graphics it can help smaller organisers that simply don’t have larger operations or design teams at their disposal, to conjure up imagery of what an event could look like, and if anything else, it helps to fuel ideas and the debate further. Saul Leese, editor [email protected] Subscription: One year’s subscription cost is UK £95+VAT p/a Europe £112+VAT, ROW £130+VAT. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publishers. Printed by Pensord Press Ltd. June — 05