The COVID-19 crisis and RAI Amsterdam
With a nearly full event calendar, 2020 initially promised to be an exceptional year for RAI Amsterdam. The fast spread of the COVID-19 virus swiftly disrupted this prospect. Taking our international visitors into account we started taking measures to protect all stakeholders against the virus as early as January – well before the first cases were detected in the Netherlands. This allowed us to safely and responsibly organise and facilitate a number of large events in the first months of the year. Until Thursday 12 March, that was, the day when the Dutch government unveiled measures to combat the further spread of COVID-19. All events in the Netherlands were cancelled for the foreseeable future.
RAI open for municipal health service tests and vaccination preparations
Although major exhibitions and conferences were unable to proceed from March 12, we were far from shut down entirely during 2020. June saw various spaces in the RAI taken into use for COVID testing by the municipal health service GGD. Initially this was only available to residents of Amsterdam and the Amstelland region who were tested from their cars, bicycles or on foot by appointment. Later anyone who wanted to get tested could make an appointment with the GGD.
The GGD counted on our support to ensure that the organisation related to the testing facilities and rapid tests ran smoothly. Our efforts were noticed by the Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema, who expressed her appreciation when she visited the venue on 30 September 2020: "I want to particularly thank the RAI for being so creative despite its own uncertain future and many redundancies.”
Approximately 400,000 people were tested for COVID at the RAI, an average of over 1,900 tests a day since the testing facilities were opened. On 11 January 2021 the GGD also started vaccinating healthcare employees in the RAI.
We were also open to other valuable social initiatives during the year. These included the RAI being used as a classroom, as a parking location for educational staff, as a gym for students and as a logistic hub for packing food parcels for vulnerable Amsterdam residents. Moreover, our employees contributed their expertise, time and network to society in various ways while any leftover provisions from our kitchens were provided to initiatives that needed them most.
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