Many countries around Europe have begun loosening Covid restrictions over the past couple months, and while Germany held out longer than most, it finally dropped Covid-related event restrictions as of April 2nd, paving the way for a big comeback for IMEX Frankfurt.
This is the first European edition of IMEX since the pandemic forced its cancellation two years in a row, and it’s shaping up to be a true return to normalcy for the industry. At the beginning of the year, IMEX announced that the Frankfurt show would be pushed from April to late May due to the surge in Omicron cases, and it will now be returning without vaccine or testing requirements in place.
Of course, we remain in a period of uncertainty when anything can change on a dime, but given the trend of lower overall caseloads in the summer months, things are looking promising ahead of the event.
“We continue to work closely with our partners in Frankfurt – the German Convention Bureau and the Frankfurt Convention Bureau, and with Messe Frankfurt, as we plan our return to Frankfurt. Messe Frankfurt’s health and safety measures remain in place including outstanding ventilation systems, enhanced cleaning and hygiene measures,” reads a statement from IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom and CEO Carina Bauer.
IMEX also notes that certain health and safety measures will be maintained to ensure attendees feel comfortable, including generously-sized aisles, outdoor space, widely spaced seating areas, and two entrances to the exhibit hall. Of course, attendees are also welcome to wear masks if they would like, although masks are not required.
Meanwhile, the events industry’s recovery is still being hampered in other parts of the world, including China, which is currently experiencing an Omicron wave and implementing some of the strictest containment measures in the world. IATA’s General Meeting, for example, which was set to take place in Shanghai in June, was moved to Qatar due to China’s restrictions.
The continued inconsistency in government policies and movement of the virus around the world will likely complicate the planning and execution of events for some time to come, but many regions are seeing positive trends and continued rebounds going into the rest of 2022.