As director general of the EBPC, Suteesh Chumber spoke to Spielwarenmesse ceo Ernst Kick to find out more about the plans for next year’s show; specifially what potential exhibitors and visitors can expect in planning for when the industry comes together in 2021.
“We know that party businesses planning on going to Nuremberg in 2021 are already wondering how the COVID-19 situation will impact next year’s show, especially for EBPC members considering making a financial investment,” Suteesh explained.
“We know that a full refund will be provided to exhibitors if the organisers are forced to cancel the toy fair, but there were still a lot of questions that needed to be answered,” he continued. “We hope the answers will help party businesses proceed with their contingency planning.”
In response to the EBPC’s questions – some of which were put forward by the members – the Spielwarenmesse organisers spoke candidly about the difficulties in planning trade shows in the current environment, stating that: ‘in these times circumstances change quickly for all of us, so please accept that our views on some points may have to be adapted as time progresses and new regulations can possibly be developed by the government due to the actual situation.’
Key takeaways were as follows:
- The exhibitor application deadline has been extended, with the final fee deadline now 6 November 2020,
- There is currently no evidence of change in visitor interest levels for Spielwarenmesse 2021,
- ‘Corona safe’ events could be co-ordinated throughout Nuremberg during the 2021 toy fair, depending on the outcome of other planned fairs starting September 2020.
“We have taken first risk assessments for social distancing but we are still at the beginning of a process to define the exact rules and regulations for Spielwarenmesse 2021,” Ernst revealed. “For this, we are joining forces with all major fair organisers active in Nuremberg, to develop a good concept for ‘Corona safe’ events together with the relevant authorities.”
“The first trade fairs will again be held in the Nuremberg exhibition centre from September 2020 and we will certainly be able to learn from the experiences made at those events.”
Ernst also responded to a specific question about whether 2021 would be a good time to rearrange Hall 9 for party and festive products, explaining that: “Even if we were to re-arrange certain product groups, now would not be a good time. It is very likely that next year’s fair will take place under circumstances which are quite special and which will hopefully not be applicable (at least to some extent) in the years after.”
Further updates will be provided as and when they become available.
