The German national government and the 16 country states have officially agreed to list the trade fairs and exhibitions as possible , rather to be classified as “mass gatherings” and remain banned until the end of August 2020. Germany is the first country in Europe that took the decision to open trade fairs under special conditions, an agreement made between the government and the federal states on May 6th, 2020.

The managing director of AUMA - Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, Jörn Holtmeier states that the trade fairs provide essential stimuli for the German economy, as they present innovation and networking platforms. The trade fair industry receives “green light” with the gradual opening of the hotels and restaurants planned by the federal states. Crucial for the success of trade fairs and expos will be the second half of the year, with the opening of borders and the resumption of cross-border business travel.

The news come several months after the hard-hit on the trade fair sector, due to the major outbreak of COVID-19 around the world. Since the beginning of the epidemic in the end of February (in some parts of the world beginning of March), most of the trade fairs and expos that were planned to be held throughout this year in Europe were postponed to autumn 2020 or re-scheduled for year 2021.

Koelnmesse decided to postpone all of its own trade fairs, after initial confirmation

The first event organizer who is spearheading the trade fair industry again is Koelnmesse , by hosting trade fairs on their premises starting September 2020. The events under their organization that will be held completely in a digital form are Gamescom 2020 (scheduled in August) and Dmexco. In their official press release Koelnmesse announces to implement specific criteria and steps to meet the condition for hosting trade fairs from September onwards. One of their prominent events that was planned to be staged was the Kind + Jugend fair - sheduled to premiere between the 17th to the 20th of September at Messe Cologne is now postponed for next year 2021. One of the oldest fairs for the baby and toddler outfitting industry.

*Update: Despite of their initial intention to held their events as usual under strict health and safety measures, due to the major opposition of participating sectors Koelnmesse had to cancel their scheduled trade fairs. *

Following the decision made by the government, and with a full compliance with the hygiene and distance rules, the renowned IFA Berlin trade fair will take place as the first real-life event in Berlin. The expo is scheduled to take place between the dates of the 3rd to the 5th of September 2020, as an invite-only event , which will put a strict limit on the number of attendees. Event organisers will ensure that social distancing, crowd control and all other hygiene measures are applied over the course of the events dates.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2020 will be staged as a real-life event and open to public

Another major event confirmed its dates, following regulations, the social distancing and hygiene rules, the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2020 (Frankfurt Book Fair 2020). Premiering between the dates of the 14th to the 18th of October at Messe Frankfurt, it is open to the general public, and will be held on-site combined with a digital offer. The physical setting of the fair will feature an exhibition site and stands/stages throughout the city.

Leading the way out of travel lockdown, China staged the first post-pandemic trade fair - the Hunan Auto Show in the city of Changsha, gathering more than 62,000 professional visitors over the course of six days. The fair was held under new, strict health screening conditions, with local authorities collaborating with event organisers to ensure the safety of attendees and execution of defined of protocols. Some of the measures include pre-show identity and health checks, preliminary done on-line and confirmed at the entrance of the show.

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