Searching for signs of ‘ live ’
While we all continue to negotiate the twists and turns in this truly awful pandemic , no one can accuse the exhibition industry of sitting on its hands .
Thanks to hard work from our industry associations , governments around the world have been presented with logical , well thought-out plans and templates for running events safely . Sure , there have been regional differences and variances to expect and be respected , but by and large an industry that is predicated on finding solutions has come through only to be let down in many cases by politicians .
In many regions the lawmakers simply don ’ t get the importance of what we do and how that nourishes economies and knowledge and societal development .
Where the power of exhibitions is recognised – in Germany , China and in Asia , the full power of the state has been harnessed to track and trace and to bring the latest technology to bear on screening entrants to exhibitions . In this issue we have examples of how that has been done , including at Caravan Salon in Germany , where 107,000 visitors voted with their feet on the issue of safety and the importance of attending in person . More deals were done this year than last , moreover , organisers reported .
Italy ’ s innovators in Vicenza showed how to pivot to hybrid with style as the VOICE gave the gold and jewellery trade a chance to shine . Collaboration very much to the fore again .
We also hear from that industry sage , Jochen Witt , who makes a passionate case for the importance of the live event and asks the 64,000-dollar question about where the ROI lies in the kind of level of virtual event we have seen to date . How many empty virtual exhibition areas and ‘ unmanned ’ digital networking platforms have you experienced ?
The big boys of the organising world , the likes of Hyve and Informa , we see ( page 9 ), are desperately cutting costs , raising capital and shuffling shows around in terms of the calendar and format , to salvage business where they can and to live to fight another ‘ live ’ day .
For those of us with governments which haven ’ t had a good Covid ‘ war ’, we still need to take the PR battle to them it seems , although for some , any victory may come too late .
Paul Colston Managing Editor Twitter : @ ExhibitionWorld @ paulcolston
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www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 5 2020 5