Will it, Will it Not? Will it, Will it Not? Will it, Will it Not? Speculations have been on since the last few months. Well all guesses have been laid to rest. drupa 2021 scheduled to be held in April 2021 has been cancelled due to continuing impact of Covid-19.
However a a four-day digital event titled ‘virtual.drupa’, will take place from 20 to 23 April 2021 during the time frame drupa was originally scheduled for. The next event will take place as scheduled from 28 May to 7 June 2024.
Sabine Geldermann, Project Director Print Technologies, adds: “Our primary goal remains to support the industry in any way we can to keep in contact at a national and international level, further develop their network and generate leads. To this end, we will be holding an interim event from 20 to 23 April, providing our exhibitors and visitors with an additional sales channel and allowing them to make reliable plans.”
Claus Bolza-Schünemann, Chairman at Köenig und Bauer and president of drupa, welcomes this approach: “A virtual event is exactly the right format in the current time”, he says. “Attending drupa under the usual parameters was just too great a risk for many exhibitors, given declining export and turnover figures, as well as significant travel restrictions, which would also affect visitors. The new digital forum is a virtual platform, providing a reliable pillar and an opportunity to maintain valuable communications within the industry until 2024.”
“The pandemic has caused a great deal of uncertainty among exhibitors and visitors in terms of their attendance at drupa 2021. Travel restrictions and budget constraints have further exacerbated the situation in the printing industry”, explains Erhard Wienkamp, COO at Messe Düsseldorf. “We have taken this decision in consultation with our partners, who are entirely supportive of it. It was preceded by a detailed process of considering the current conditions and the needs of the industry.”
Launched in October, the drupa preview platform already offers an impression of what ‘virtual.drupa’ will look like. It will give companies the opportunity to showcase themselves and their innovations virtually. The organisers also announced that registrations for the ‘virtual drupa’ will begin in early January 2021.
Dr Markus Heering, Managing Director of the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association emphasised, “Our members are telling us, that trade fairs to drive their business forward are still in great demand. The value and appeal of drupa remain intact. The decision to suspend it in 2021 is entirely down to the pandemic”.
“In the long run, it is important for all of us to maintain drupa as an international platform in Europe, as it displays the diversity of our industry. 200 years of expertise are rooted in Europe and must continue. However, we welcome the introduction of the new digital platform as an interim solution until 2024” he added.
The organisers have given options to visitors who have purchased entry tickets. They can either be given a voucher for the subsequent event or take a refund if desired, for which a request has to be submitted via an online form by 3st January.
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