The show must go on
Ukrainian organiser Premier Expo , Part of PROExpo ( Europe ) Ltd , is a UFI member and has been running trade shows since the year 2000 . Realising how important exhibitions are for the economy , even during times of war , the company tells EW how it kept its shows on the road - or in a bomb shelter to be exact
remier Expo ’ s staff
P returned to work as soon as the Kyiv Capital Region was freed from Russian forces and , for nearly a year now , like most of the country , has been living and working under threat of rocket attacks . All activities have been moved to the bomb shelters during air raids . Russian attacks on the power grid have meant businesses must balance between power cuts to carry on working – a bit like trying to stay dry while running between rain drops …
Premier Expo stayed close to its clients . There was a clear understanding that the trade show was the most cost-effective marketing tool , the more so in such challenging times . We would like to tell our story of successes , challenges and unorthodox decisions , hoping though that no one ever has to repeat the experience .
The first two wartime exhibitions took place in November 2022 , namely the Public Health Forum and Pro Beauty Expo . The latter provides the core of the Premier Expo story to follow : The following factors were taken into careful consideration when planning :
• Safety and security
• Legal acts allowing public events to take place
• Demand by the trade – the key factor that would guarantee visitors on the show floor
• Readiness of the vendors to be present on site with stands to showcase their products and services
• Financial viability .
• Obviously , risks were present . However , knowing how to manage and minimise them helped us cope with the task .
Safety and security We approached our traditional exhibition venue in Kyiv – IEC and they turned their vast basement with its reinforced concrete ground floor into an air raid shelter with 2,000 + seating capacity , Wi-Fi , a First Aid room and tea-coffee facilities . The Kyiv City Administration and emergency services gave us permission to run the show .
We estimated there would be a reduction of visitors by at least 80 % compared to a normal event .
We ordered a second multimedia kit for the shelter so we could continue running meetings and seminars there during air raids . A reserve mobile 120 kWt diesel generator was rented to back up the power supply .
Wi-Fi on site was also backed up by a Starlink unit .
The Premier Expo team worked on a variety of scenarios and published clear instructions on our website and forwarded them to every exhibitor , contractor and co-organiser of onsite content .
Our clients were convinced the economy must keep working for our victory ’ s sake . Our women also want to stay beautiful and staging a beauty show gives strength and inspiration so that they can put up with inevitable hardships of war .
One might think that with the sound of an air raid siren everyone moves to the shelter . Well , everything depends on timing . For instance , on the last day of the show the air raid alarm started one hour before the opening time when many exhibitors were still travelling to the venue .
The trains on the underground , which connects to the venue , must stop during air raids as the line comes out onto the surface at some point . That caused many exhibitors to be stuck . Then , five minutes before opening , the air raid alarm ended , and we were obliged to open the gates . Fifteen stands were unpopulated still and our own staff took charge of those stands . We mobilised everyone who we could take off from less critical duties , even the MD of the company .
Our exhibition managers called each exhibitor to check on their ETA and to reassure them that their stands were safely manned by Premier Expo people . Within one hour every stand was passed back to the grateful exhibitors .
Blackout There were , inevitably , some challenges that we couldn ’ t foresee . When there is no power , mobile phone networks don ’ t work . As a result we were not able to receive air raid and all-clear signals .
Some online speakers were also affected by a lack of power at their end . These issues became obvious during our first show in November , so for the beauty show we decided to avoid running any online content , relying only on offline .
Another issue was the toilets in the basement . Those operate by electric pumps which did not function during blackouts . So , we decided to use the facilities on the ground level of another pavilion , which was empty at the time , with signage swiftly made .
Exhibitors were asked to bring power stabilisers for their sensitive aesthetic medicine equipment to
26 Issue 1 2023 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk