Bilbao Exhibition Centre resumes its event calendar

With a protocol that offers maximum health and hygiene guarantees

Bilbao Exhibition Centre is working to resume its calendar with the events that had been planned for the fourth quarter of the year and those that were postponed back in March when the pandemic started. Starting in September, the Basque exhibition centre will host Imaginenano, Retroclásica, Egurtek, FVO-Used Car Fair, Celebra, and BIEMH-International Machine-Tool Biennial Exhibition, among other events.

The design of an own protocol of measures to guarantee health and safety adapts to the order established by the Basque Health Minister and is based on the recommendations of the Spanish Tourism Quality Institute. The latter has included in its considerations the proposal issued in early May by AFE – Spanish Fairs Association and APCE – Spanish Association of Conference Centres, in coordination with UFI-The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and EMECA-European Major Exhibition Centres Association.

In this new scenario, BEC management is activating all the essential mechanisms to ensure that the venue is safe for clients, suppliers, organisers and staff, by creating an environment with the highest health and safety guarantees.

Exhibitions, congresses and events are key for the economic reactivation following the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore BEC will take on a position of active responsibility in this phase and in the creation of a new model for social, financial and environmental stability.

A positive and safe experience for all users

The procedure to guarantee a safe venue focuses on access control; preventive capacity management; control and monitoring of people’s movements and social distancing; cleaning, sanitisation, quality and environmental safety of the facilities; coordination and communication with authorities and health services; and actions against possible “suspicious” cases and the relevant care plans.

From this moment on, the movement of people and vehicles will also be controlled at each event at the entrances and exits of the facilities, minimising the number of accesses to facilitate control. The online registration of participants will be encouraged, which will enable to inform them about the participation terms before arrival, while reducing queues, avoiding contact and keeping track, if needed.

As for the management of capacity, systems counting the number of attendees in real time will be installed. Separation of entrances and exits, and monitoring passes of participating companies will be some of the other measures that will contribute to a greater control of movements.

In the case of commercial trade shows, it is advisable to increase spaces and promote a distribution that will favour the orderly movement of people. With regard to congresses, the occupation of spaces will be defined by capacity regulations and safety distances between the public and the speaker will also be enforced. Furthermore, audiovisual, catering and translation companies, among other many suppliers, will increase their hygiene and sanitisation protocols to offer an appropriate service.

To guarantee an effective implementation, BEC is committed to constantly review and improve the procedures; both in the early phases, by supervising the design, as in the execution phase, focusing on the evaluation of its implementation, compliance, results and efficiency during the celebration of the event.

This entire process will be completed by active communication, both internal and external, which shall reinforce the information, awareness, appropriate social behaviours and risk prevention, by means of manuals, guides, and signs designed to create a positive and safe experience for all the users of our venue.

The events industry: key to the economic reactivation with great adaptability

Trade shows, congresses and events have a strategic role for the economy as key drivers that serve the community and its companies, generating employment and having an immense traction power on corporate tourism, which is essential for hotels, restaurants, businesses, transport, and cultural and leisure activities.

Therefore, the Bilbao Exhibition Centre team has worked intensively over these past months to join efforts with other companies to get back on track as soon as possible, being a decisive element in this recovery phase. In this changing context, the goal has not changed, gaining even more value in the current situation. Having spaces for direct contact in which to share innovative products and technologies in operation, search for new suppliers and clients, analyse the market situation, and establish high quality professional relationships has proven to be the necessary and irreplaceable formula to tackle the upcoming challenges.

Thus, BEC is creating a diversified programme to promote companies, which will be fully adapted to their commercial needs and the market situation. The search for new business opportunities for clients will be the hallmark of this new phase, therefore, the Basque institution will be grounded on its renowned transformation abilities. In the past years, the calendar and the event models have evolved noticeably, showing a firm commitment to innovation and sustainable leadership.

By |2020-07-09T07:09:05+02:009 de July de 2020|News|0 Comments

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