Finally, the time has come again: to get together with many other event professionals – to attend an event. Rarely has the anticipation of an event been as great as this time. The pilot project „Perspektive MICE Berlin“ was launched by visitBerlin together with the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, as well as Economy, Energy and Business. The project aims to show how events with the proper hygiene concept can be held despite a pandemic.
In addition to the test run in the MICE sector, there are also trials in the culture and sports sectors, some of which are still in the starting stages.
The (negative) test is the limit
After the quite uncomplicated registration, all participants were sent a QR code in advance by mail, with which the contactless check-in process could be run smoothly. But before the guest even got to see this area, the question arose: „Are you negative?“
The proof could be provided in advance with a test in one of the specialized test centers, or directly on site with a quick test that provided the result in 20 minutes.
All that was needed was a short wait in the waiting room at large tables. Here’s a little note for the future: There’s no better place to network, so add a little get-to-know-you format and you’ve immediately put the time to good use.
Once this obstacle was cleared, there was nothing standing in the way of participation.
MICE 2 MEET you
Before we went into the conference room, we had the opportunity to have a quick latte macchiato or to network a while with a glass of water in our hands.
After arriving in the room and taking one of the tables stocked with drinks, things got started right away.
Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, welcomed the guests and encouraged the assembled event competence in the hall and
stream that soon more presence can be expected again. His words were also followed by State Secretary Christian Riekerts, who also gave a short insight into the work of the Senate and announced, among other things, that Berlin will start contact tracking with the LUCA app in the future.
After the introductory words had passed over the airwaves, two panel rounds started on the topics „#Perspective MICE – safe events in pandemic times?!“ and „Restarting Berlin’s event industry“.
In the first of the two discussion rounds, Marc Mundstock, Event Director of AXICA Kongress – und Tagungszentrum and Ute Jacobs, Managing Director of Estrel Berlin got to the bottom of the issue.With the appeal: „We need a perspective and for that we need reliable framework conditions and, above all, figures with which we can work“, both earned thunderous applause.
In panel number two, visitBerlin showed what the Convention Bureau has in store for us in 2021. Funding pots for medium-sized events, decentralized convention centers and the BESTIVAL. We are excited about what lies ahead and @visitBerlin, if you need support for the BESTIVAL, our doors are open to you!
Time to say goodbay
Happy and feeling that things are going in the right direction and that this pilot project is the first step into recurring events, the event ended with a laughter to have just been at a presence event again, live and in color and not behind a screen and a teary eye, knowing that it will still take a little while until there will really be live / hybrid events again.
We say: it was the important first step. But now the work really starts, so that we can all do again what we enjoy so much. Conjuring up unforgettable moments with and for people.
Patrick Bergmann – Editor MEET GERMANY
