PROIBC
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC gives us a preview of the preparations IBC has made to receive attendees in light of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic How is IBC preparing for the upcoming edition? IBC’s main priority is delivering a safe live event for the content and technology industry. The past couple of years have been tough for everyone, but it has been inspiring to see the industry transcend the pandemic’s challenges and continue to collaborate and innovate at pace and scale. We think now is the right time for the industry to get together again to educate, learn and network at an in-person event. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the industry supports our decision to return to Amsterdam in December. We have some exciting plans in store for IBC2021, most notably for our content programme, which will be available for free to all attendees. This means all attendees will be able to watch our convention keynotes, featuring industry visionaries from Discovery Inc., Fox Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Olympic Broadcasting Services, Starz, Unity Technologies and Warner Media. The convention keynotes will be hosted in the new Showcase Theatre in Hall 12, along with thought leadership-led sessions on rapid-growth markets from exhibitors and sponsors. We’ll also have four themed Show Floor Stages placed in the main exhibitor halls with dedicated themes: Production & Post-production, Content Supply Chain, OTT/Direct to Consumer (Content Everywhere), and Live & Remote Production. Innovation is the fifth theme for this year’s content programme, which will be mirrored in presentations from sessions from the 2021 Technical Papers Programme and IBC owners. The 2021 Accelerator Media Innovation Programme also falls under the theme of Innovation and will showcase boundarybreaking live demonstrations, along with discussions with participants about their challenges and solutions. The IBC Innovation Awards will also return, and this year we’ll be spotlighting collaborative projects and announcing the recipient for IBC’s highest accolade: the IBC International Honour for Excellence. How are exhibitor and visitor numbers faring this year? This year we are on track for at least 700 exhibitors at
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the show, and visitors can expect to see exciting demos and hear the latest industry insights from major industry players, such as Amazon Web Services, Blackmagic Design, EVS, Grass Valley, Nagra and Synamedia. Over the past month, we've also experienced a sharp uptick in visitor registrations, which were buoyed by the Dutch government removing any need for fully vaccinated visitors to quarantine upon entry into The Netherlands. This means that coming to IBC is possible for almost 100% of our usual visitors. Are you expecting Middle East attendees this year? If it’s safe and viable, we hope to see exhibitors and visitors from the Middle East. Some Middle Eastern countries are on the EU’s safe travel list. However, we understand that it may not be possible for everyone to travel to Amsterdam, but they will be able to join onscreen at home via IBC Digital to avoid missing any of the action. What would you say to potential visitors concerned about health and safety? We welcomed the Dutch government’s decision to relax Covid-19 restrictions and remove the 1.5m social distancing requirements and mandatory wearing of masks. It means IBC exhibitors and visitors will enjoy an enriched experience based on simpler safety protocols. In line with the Dutch government’s announcement, IBC will relax several guidelines that previously compromised the value proposition of the show, such as meeting room and stand capacity, and face masks and personal contact — this will now be at the individual’s discretion. However, at the beginning of this year I said that health and safety are of paramount importance, and this hasn’t changed. IBC will still have a perimeter fence around the venue. This is mainly to provide a safe environment for people to come and go smoothly in the knowledge that all attendees will have been vaccinated, tested negative or have proof of recent recovery from the virus. Similar to the Dutch guidelines for entry into the Netherlands, access will be granted by means of a digital Covid certificate, paper proof of an EU-approved
