In April 2020, IFA said it was not planning to cancel the September 2020 show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizers said the event would be performed as planned but were exploring an ‘innovative way’ to stage the summit while putting the health and safety of attendees first.
To this end, IFA has been given a nod to host the 3-day event from September 3 to 5. The number of attendees will also be cut significantly for obvious reasons.
The special edition of the show will host 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.
Attendees will go to Berlin-based on an invite-only system. This means that the floor will not be open to the public.
“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.” 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,” says Jens Heithecker, the Executive Director of IFA Berlin.
IFA will also offer a virtual experience for attendees. It acknowledges that interested parties will outstrip available spaces, while other people will be subject to travel restrictions.
Companies such as Huawei will also be in attendance.
“Huawei has been participating IFA for 9 years. It has been an excellent platform for Huawei to promote our products and strategies as well as meeting friends around the world. We look foward to joining the event in the new form,” noted Chengdong (Richard) Yu, CEO Huawei.
TLDR: IFA will go on as planned, but attendees will need an invite this time around. The show will not be open to the public, but IFA will provide a virtual experience for teams that want to be part of the summit.
