IFA boldly confirms 2020 live trade show will go ahead

Technology trade show IFA has reinvented itself, in order to be the first big CE industry event to go ahead since ISE. Organisers are limiting attendance to business and media, scrapping the public element, and reducing the number of days to three, running September 3 -5.

IFA 2020 will comprise four stand-alone events: the IFA Global Press Conference for brands’ keynotes and press conferences; the sourcing show IFA Global Markets; the innovation platform IFA NEXT meets IFA SHIFT Mobility; and the IFA Business, Retail and Meeting Lounges. Each will be self-contained.

“After all the event cancellations during the past months, our industry urgently needs a platform where it can showcase its innovation, so that it can recover and rebound. The recovery of our industry starts here at IFA Berlin,” says Jens Heithecker, Executive Director. “While virtual events were useful, they were “missing the immediacy, hands-on experience and human connections that make events like IFA Berlin so incredibly useful.”

The organizers will make sure that social distancing, careful crowd control and other effective public hygiene measures are all in place.

Heithecker conceded that the international picture was far from clear, saying each country is negotiating the COVID-19 pandemic at its own pace. He added that if there was a second wave of infection, then any physical show would be cancelled.

The Messe Berlin, home to IFA, is currently the site of an emergency COVID medical facility.

The IFA chief also confirmed that plans were going ahead for the CE China trade show, which will take place September 24-26.