CeBIT: New start with delay

CeBIT once attracted the masses. Then the interest dropped. With Ferris wheel, street food stalls and Jan Delay, the exhibition will recapture visitors.

CeBIT: New start with delay
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  • Page 2 — when fair audience jumps
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    Jan Delay has once more excited people. When musician appears on stage on Wednesday at 20.48 pm, as always in suit, with hat and sunglasses, claps audience behavior. Delay agrees lines to his hit course, course, energy-loaded he runs from one side of stage to or. One or or nods in tact, some sing with one anor, some dance, but most are simply re and listen. "I see you're still all a bit in business mode," says Delay. And adds that it won't be long before public will soon forget it.

    The people at CeBIT Entrain to inspire m and to let m forget monotonous trade fair business – This is not only a difficult task for Jan Delay, but also for makers of fair. They want to help CeBIT to a renaissance, y want to attract more people to Hanover again. This year y have changed concept. There is now an outdoor area with street food stalls, with Ferris wheel and with stages for artists like Jan Delay. "Europe's Business Festival for Innovation and digitisation" officially stands above entrance halls, which is supposed to attract more young, hip people from Generation Y.

    In past, it didn't need a festival for people to make ir pilgrimage to Hanover. At that time, CeBIT combined great names and promise to latest trends in IT industry. 1995 said Bill Gates on stage, Microsoft founder introduced Windows 95 (Windows was still in past) and presented in a short film possibilities of digital society. CeBIT was a mandatory date for people with a digital affinity. In record years, over days, up to 830,000 visitors spread between stalls and filled ir pockets with free gadgets.

    Bill Gates is looking for you in vain today. Microsoft does not even have its own booth this year. Even Telekom – after all Germany's largest infrastructure company – is no longer one of official exhibitors, even if bonnes are present at festival site with a magenta container. The less prominent names also diminish interest: number of visitors and exhibitors has been declining for years. 2017 only 200,000 people appeared at CeBIT, number of exhibitors is 2018 at around 2,800. It used to be more than 8,000.

    A new beginning has been in discussion for years. Now he comes delayed as a festival with a touch of hipster chic in summer instead of March. The role model is South by Southwest in USA, one of most important Techfestivals currently. This sounds a little naïve: a bit of pop, a bit of a carnival, n visitors will come back.

    Expected to be more crowded

    At first glance, concept does not seem to be unwinding. This starts with program: Normally CeBIT always started on Sunday with a "Welcome night", it was officially opened on Mondays. This year "Welcome Night" was postponed on Monday and opening was celebrated on Tuesday. That makes a day less mass. On fairgrounds, large halls in north are no longer filled, CeBIT is distributed only to eleven buildings. Officially, grounds are that halls should frame festival grounds. But one may presume: if re were more exhibitors interested, fair would have sold more land. That's your business, after all.

    A tour confirms suspicion. There are very, very wide aisles, re are stand-employees who are much more entertained than with potential customers, re are huge areas of blue-green carpets on which lost a few birch, tables and seating. Oliver Frese, member of board of Directors of German trade fair, cannot correctly refute fact that se areas fill half-halls. In conversation with time online, he says that exhibitors would have liked more free space. Free Area Yes, but so much free space?

    Even with well-known companies, little is happening. Facebook presents itself this year for first time with its own presence at CeBIT, toger with virtual reality subsidiary Oculus. The stand is comparatively small, with screens hanging on cork walls. They explain artificial intelligence of social network, advertise educational initiatives, and introduce data protection efforts. Despite free drinks and fruit skewers, only a few visitors stroll through it. "We were expecting a bit more rush," says Stefan Meister, who works in communication of Facebook. At Dmexco Marketing Fair, visitors would normally be close to close.

    Date Of Update: 16 June 2018, 12:02
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