FESPA Global Print Expo will no longer take place in Madrid in October 2020 due to continued public health risks and business disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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"Giving our exhibitors and visitors time
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FESPA will now host its next flagship international event at the RAI Exhibition Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 9-12 March 2021, again co-locating FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Sportswear Pro.
“In March 2020 we took the decision to delay FESPA Global Print Expo by six months in the face of the advancing pandemic and its implications for our exhibitors and visitors,” said FESPA CEO Neil Felton.
“Since then the development of COVID-19 has been dynamic and unpredictable. While many regions are now gradually emerging from lockdown, at this point in time we cannot be confident that we could match exhibitor and visitor expectations of a FESPA event if we were to go ahead in October this year.
“Early March 2021 offers the strongest alternative, giving our exhibitors and visitors time to recover and ourselves time to prepare fully for any new operational requirements. Feedback from the market indicates that, having faced the considerable commercial challenges of 2020, our community will welcome FESPA Global Print Expo in March 2021 as an important platform for business recovery and forward progress early next year.”
Amsterdam is a popular and proven destination city for FESPA events, having played host to successful exhibitions in 2006, 2009 and 2016. Its accessibility via road and rail from so many areas of northern and central Europe will be an advantage for many visitors at this time, Felton said.
This new March 2021 edition of FESPA Global Print Expo will replace the originally scheduled 2021 event in Munich, Germany. FESPA will return to Munich in 2022.
Commentary by Andy McCourt - Publisher of WFOL
It's challenging times for trade fair organisers having to re-schedule in the hope of easing social distancing regulations and aircraft returning to the skies to bring in visitors and exhibition stand staff. The October rescheduling of FESPA Madrid was always over-optimistic and to some, such as Australia's Keith Ferrel of Cactus Imaging - a FESPA devotee - a little bewildering, describing it as 'irresponsible.'
So is FESPA's second rescheduling to Amsterdam in March 2021 any better? I can't speak for European visitors and exhibitors but for us in Oceania and SE Asia - I fear not. For starters, our national carrier Qantas has stated that it doubts international services will be resumed before June 2021. Maybe that could change but currently there are very limited options to fly out of Australia and New Zealand. Qatar Airways is still operating two flights a day out of Sydney, to Doha and then with connecting flights to some European cities, but currently Australians wanting to travel internationally have to get a permit from the Department of Home Affairs - and there has to be a very good reason to travel. There is also the quarantne issues at both ends.
Of more concern is the apparent disregard for both visitor and exhibitor comfort and convenience - FESPA proposes to hold its event, which seeks to be more all-encompassing as the 'Global Print Expo' just 5 weeks before the world's largest 'global print expo' drupa 2021 which is scheduled to open on April 20th, just 2.5 hours drive away in Dusseldorf. In reality, it's even closer than that for exhibitors because of the time needed for tear-down and build-up of such major industry trade fairs.
Whatever is FESPA thinking? Is this a full-frontal attack on drupa which, the last time a FESPA was held close to it in 2016 attracted 265,000 visitors against FESPA's 16,000? Or does it acknowledge that it will probably be a smaller, local Netherlands, UK and European show with few if any intercontinental visitors and exhibitor staff? Have they thought that it might be nice to have some Americans, Africans, Asians and Aussies/Kiwis there? I mean, FESPAs are great events and address very important growth sectors of our industry - people globally want to see and learn from it but two major trade shows barely a month and 225km apart - come on!
Is there a solution?
Well I can think of one. It may seem heretical to some on both sides of the fence but, if Europe is really the unified federation it claims to be - it would work.
Combine the two shows.
Bring FESPA into drupa for 2021 - they'll have the space and it can retain its own brand identity. Sure there are challenges regarding cross-over exhibitors but we in Australia have shown it can work with co-located shows managed overall by Visual Connections. PacPrint and PrintEx have both been held with co-located Visual Impact and Image Expo events.
None of us know just what the international health and travel scene will be like in 2021 and the lead-up but of one thing I am certain - there is no room for two major European industry 'global' trade fairs so close together - for long-haul visitors it will be one or the other - or neither.
The idea should at least be explored and differences, politics set aside, asking 'what if...?'
If you have your own thoughts on this, please email me at andy@wideformatonline.com and we'll publish the consensus.
