WindEnergy Hamburg will not be on the Hamburg exhibition campus this year. Instead, Hamburg Messe und Congress plans to host a fully digital event in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its global impact on trade fairs and international traveling.
“Following extensive consultations with our co-organizer, WindEurope, our partners VDMA, BWE and GWEC, and the exhibition committee, we have decided to host WindEnergy Hamburg 2020 as a new digital event,” said Bernd Aufderheide, president and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH. “In the face of growing infection rates in many countries and international travel restrictions, planning a physical trade fair with participants from all around the world is next to impossible. Our decision gives our exhibitors and visitors a reliable basis for planning and provides us with an opportunity to make the wind industry’s leading networking event a great success on the digital stage.”
Hamburg Messe und Congress is working vigorously on the development of digital formats that will allow all participants in WindEnergy Hamburg to have a successful trade fair experience in the present unusual situation.
“We are in the process of reinventing and expanding the trade fair concept,” Aufderheide said. “Through our digital program, we want to bring the industry together this year despite the difficult circumstances. When we meet again on the Hamburg Messe und Congress exhibition campus in 2022, some of these new services might turn out to be welcome additions to the proven trade fair concept.”
The digital program will include company and product profiles along with comprehensive, up-to-date background information, plus education, business, and networking opportunities. It will even be possible to make appointments for meetings in virtual meeting rooms, among other features.
“We are trying to replicate as many aspects of WindEnergy Hamburg in the digital space so that exhibitors in particular will have an opportunity to present themselves and interact with the global community,” Aufderheide said.
One of the highlights that had been planned for the event, the Premium Conference by WindEurope, will likewise be held digitally.
“This year’s WindEurope Conference comes in a new form,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson. “For the first time, alongside the main conference program, there’ll be a ‘Wind TV’ channel, which will give access to exclusive live and on-demand content, so, you won’t just be tuning into Teams/Zoom panels.”
The high-level virtual conference will focus on how to unleash wind’s full potential. The coverage will include permitting, community engagement, electrification, renewable hydrogen, technology and innovation, and the wind-energy supply chain.
More info: www.windenergyhamburg.com
