‘Despite and actually indeed because of the pandemic situation, we have received feedback that a large proportion of the international players in the sector are feeling very positive about Heimtextil at the start of the year’, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. ‘There is a huge desire to meet face to face. The need to exchange information about new products and trend and market developments is there and also the wish to give business activities a boost after the restart. We can feel the great confidence that our exhibitors have in us to offer the industry a safe trading platform with good prospects of success and we will do everything in our power to achieve this’.

Messe Frankfurt develops protection and hygiene concept

To enable the safe resumption of trade fair operations, Messe Frankfurt has drawn up a concept that incorporates hygiene, medical and organisational measures and had it approved by the authorities. The top priority is the health and safety of all exhibitors, visitors, partners and employees. ‘We have issued all exhibitors with instructions and recommendations for their trade fair appearance that are in line with current regulations. To ensure that the trade fair is safe and successful for everyone, it is necessary to rethink the stand concepts. The protection and hygiene regulations in place at the time of the event will also need to be adhered to’, says Olaf Schmidt.

For all its measures aimed at improving hygiene on its grounds, Messe Frankfurt follows the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute. In addition, all requirements are based on the currently valid regulations laid down in the ‘Corona Contact and Operating Restrictions Regulation’ of the state of Hesse, passed 7 May 2020.

Larger stands, wider aisles

Distancing is the most important aspect of the protection and hygiene concept and the resulting new planning of the halls and stands: in line with current requirements, the stands have a minimum size of 18 square metres in order to maintain 1.5 metre distances between exhibitors and visitors. Some aisles between the stands will also be widened considerably. Five-metre wide boulevards enable people to walk past each other in both directions. Narrower aisles of three metres can be safely used as a one-way system. Whether and in what situation face masks will need to be worn depends on the current legal situation but it is not yet possible to predict what this will be in January 2021.

Safe stand construction concepts

The important thing for exhibitors to know is that stand construction concepts also need to be adapted to bring them into line with social distancing and hygiene rules. This primarily means that more generous planning allowances must be made for the stands, with clearly marked and controllable entrances and exits. Stands should also have a lower complexity of construction so that as many people as possible can continue to visit the stand at any one time. Exhibitors are also required to take distancing and hygiene rules into account when planning lectures and presentations at their stand.