He Food room, than Fira de Barcelona It had to be postponed to September due to the coronavirus crisis, it will finally be held in May 2021, “given the current circumstances and in order to guarantee the best possible edition, both in participation and internationality.”
The decision to postpone until 2021 the celebration of this bi-annual fair has been adopted this Monday by Fira de Barcelona and the Organizing Committee of Alimentaria, in which the main associations and companies of the country are present.
The president of said Committee, Josep Lluís Bonet, explained in a statement that the decision was made after assessing the current situation, evaluating different alternatives and, above all, “listening to the sector”, to whom he thanked for his support for an event. that, he assures, “will contribute to reactivate the economy” of the country. In this way, Alimentaria will be held from May 17 to 20, 2021 and will do so “with the highest commercial expectations” and assistance from international buyers and visitors, and with all the necessary prevention measures for the coronavirus.
Food Congress in September
Despite the postponement of the show, on September 28 and 29 a forum is planned to be held, at the Fira de Barcelona Conference Center, on the future of the agri-food industry, restaurants, hotels and tourism, key sectors of the economy, all of them represented in the Alimentaria, Hostelco and Fòrum Gastronòmic salons, with the participation of service and distribution companies in these areas.
In addition to Alimentaria, next year’s calendar will be marked by relevant industrial and professional exhibitions, both organized by Fira de Barcelona, whose celebration date has been defined with the respective sectors, as major international reference events of other fair operators who have chosen the venues of the institution to carry them out.
In 2021, other contests that were originally planned for 2020 will be organized, such as the IOT Solutions World Congress, on the Internet of Things and the digitization of the industry, which will take place in May; Expoquimia, Eurosurfas and Equiplast, the three great events in the chemical, surface treatment and plastic sectors, to be held in September; Hostelco, equipment room for Restaurants, Hospitality and Communities; and Alimentaria Foodtech, focused on machinery, technology and ingredients in the food and beverage industry, which will be held in October, together with Hispack, a benchmark in the packaging industry, already planned initially for next year, like Barcelona Building Construmat, Automobile Barcelona or Piscina & Wellness, among many others.
Halls of 2021
The year 2021 will also stand out for the celebration of events of important projection and world leadership, some already deeply rooted in Barcelona such as MWC Barcelona, the largest international fair of the mobile communications ecosystem, organized by GSMA, which will take place again after its cancellation last February due to the advance of the coronavirus. But others will come to the city for the first time after having chosen the Fira venues as their headquarters. This is the case of ISE, the most important in the world of the audiovisual industry, which until this year was held in Amsterdam, and Seafood, a benchmark for seafood that until now took place in Brussels.
Given this intense panorama, the general director of Fira de Barcelona, Constantí Serrallonga, has highlighted the potential of the institution as “a great instrument for economic recovery, especially in the current context, given the great variety of business sectors present in the events and the economic and social impact it generates in the territory. ” After emphasizing the ability to attract large international events and adapt to circumstances according to different sectors, he underlined the importance that, beyond 2021, “Fira has its sights set on the activity it will carry out in the last four-month period this year, which will undoubtedly help revitalize the business fabric, as is our objective. “
According to a study prepared by the Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) of the University of Barcelona (UB), Fira generates an annual economic impact in the territory of 4,689 million euros. This increase in production translates into an effect on the Gross Added Value (GVA) of 2,177.6 million euros, in 34,600 jobs and 899.2 million euros in tax collection. The economic impact of Fira’s activity would be equivalent to 1% of Catalonia’s GDP.
Agenda until the end of the year
The fair activity will resume with the Valmont Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, which will celebrate its 30th edition between September 4 and 10, with a digital format that will broadcast the parades of the new bridal fashion collections and allow virtual meetings between brands to be arranged exhibitors and buyers from anywhere in the world. Bizbarcelona will also take place in September, an event for entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs and the self-employed, which will combine the face-to-face and virtual formats and will coincide with the Saló de l’Ocupació, on job opportunities and self-employment.
Liber, focused on the publishing business and the book in Spanish, the Boat Show and the Ocasión room of the pre-owned vehicle are scheduled for the month of October. In November, the world summit on smart cities and urban solutions, Smart City Expo World Congress, will arrive at its annual event, which this time will have a totally virtual format with the aim of adapting to current circumstances and continuing to be an international benchmark in the sector.
Other prominent events will complement the calendar until the end of the year such as Ibtm World, the world’s most important fair for the business travel, congress and incentive industry, Manga Barcelona, Aviation Week MRO Europe, of the aeronautical maintenance industry, and the Congress of the European Society of Vascular Image, among others planned.
The return to activity will be accompanied by anti-covid-19 security and prevention measures to mitigate risks for workers, organizers, exhibitors, visitors and suppliers. To do this, Fira has drawn up an action protocol, in collaboration with the consulting firm specialized in risk management, Aon, and the advice of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, which, among other measures, includes large spaces that guarantee physical distance, intelligence artificial to control the flow of visitors and the capacity, traceability of the contacts of the attendees in their venues, possible temperature control at the entrances, reinforced ventilation systems, digitization of the accreditation systems and organization of catering services.
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