Expo Event: When will the event lockoff follow?

The national industry association Expo Event is very supportive of the Federal Council's plan of action to gradually lift the lockdown if health and safety are guaranteed for all visitors, partners and employees. And it is going one step further: it has formed a group of experts on the safe staging of trade fairs and events. Will it soon be possible to hold trade fairs and congresses with fewer than 1,000 guests again?

Expo Event demands that events with less than 1,000 people be gradually allowed again as of May 27, 2020, due to their economic significance and in order to safeguard the existence of hundreds of companies in our industry. The decisive factor should not be the number of visitors alone, but the measures taken by the companies involved to protect all persons involved.

The action plan

To this end, the association, together with an interdisciplinary group of experts from the fields of corporate events, concerts, meetings, catering, event technology, event agencies, event infrastructure and event organizers, has drawn up a catalog of measures with recommendations for action to protect the health of all participants and employees (based on the specified distance and protection measures BAG). Details of the action plan are:

• Ensure tracking of all individuals involved in event planning and execution before, during and after the event over a two week period.
• Documentation of the planned and implemented measures per event
• Assignment of responsibility for planning and implementing measures within the event organization.

The practical checklist is intended to serve event organizers, suppliers and authorities. In a further step, the concept is to be supplemented by a hygiene concept from an independent hygiene specialist company and a documented risk analysis by event organizers.

The working group

The Expo Event working group includes:

• Ralph Biedermann, DELTAgroup
• Katharina Doering, Party Rent Switzerland AG
• Martin Fischer, Production Resource Group AG
• Mathias Gantenbein, ISS Switzerland
• Christian Künzli, Winkler Livecom AG / Member of the Board Expo Event
• Frank Marreau (picture), Expomobilia - MCH Live Marketing Solutions AG / Member of the Board Expo Event
• Gregor Ming, India Zelt & Event AG / Member of the Board Expo Event
• Jonas Scharf, MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd.
• Tim Schlichting, Coople (Switzerland) AG
• Nicolai Squarra, BUZZ Entertainment AG
• Markus Walder, Bright Entertainment AG
• Daniel Wyss, Andreas Messerli AG / Member of the Board Expo Event

Around four billion francs in value added

As the leading event organizer, the MCH Group generated sales of CHF 445 million in the last financial year, while the entire LiveCom sector (exhibition organizers, exhibition service providers, event agencies, event service providers) generated sales of CHF 2725 million in 2019 and employed 5,650 people. The resumption of business activity is central for the companies in the sector as well as for the economy as a whole.

In Switzerland, live communication generates a value added of between 2 and 4 billion Swiss francs for the industry and the industry using it. These figures do not include the sales generated by exhibitors and the event-driving industry at trade shows and events. The live communication industry is a service industry that provides important impetus to the economy.