The organizers of the Solar Solutions International event which was postponed in March have persuaded the Dutch government industry events should not be subject to the same Covid-19 restrictions as concerts.
Lobbying of the Dutch government by trade show company Good! Events & Media has paid off, with the authorities separating the Covid-19 protocols applied to conferences from those used for non-trade gatherings such as concerts – clearing the way for the rearranged Solar Solutions International show to go ahead in September.
Subject to a second wave of Covid-19 cases, Solar Solutions and the accompanying Green Heating event will take place in the Dutch city of Haarlem from September 8-10, retaining its usual Tuesday-to-Thursday slot.
The show had originally been planned at the Expo Haarlemmermeer venue in mid March but the arrival of coronavirus in Europe put paid to those plans as the solar industry trade show calendar was ripped up.
Covid-19
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The rearranged show is now set to return to Expo Haarlemmermeer with a range of Covid-19-related protocols including a requirement for attendees to book a time slot, at the end of which the show floor will be cleared for the next group of visitors.
“We were the driving force behind ‘veilig to the vakbeurs’ – roughly translated as the ‘safe trade shows initiative’ – a lobbying effort to convince the Dutch government to differentiate between the business event sector and large scale events such as concerts and festivals,” said Peter Groot, MD of Good! Events & Media. “As part of this effort, we helped write the protocol that will be used by the entire Dutch trade show sector to organize trade shows in a safe and responsible manner. As such, we are excellently prepared to implement the protocol for Solar Solutions.”
Expectations
Groot told pv magazine the September show – which Good! is confidently labeling ‘the largest solar trade show in Europe’ – will “have the same floorplan, many of the same seminars and almost all of the same participants,” with the time-slot system evening out the number of visitors during the day to avoid the peak surge experienced around noon at previous events.
The organizers have trailed more than 100 practical seminars and more than 500 innovations, including new solar panels, smart products and storage systems at this year’s event, with Groot adding, a similar number of attendees is expected as would have been anticipated in March.
The accompanying Green Heating show is devoted to sustainable heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology.
Source: pv magazine
