Although Messe München can demonstrate a proven hygiene concept, “Bau”, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems, will not be held from 11 to 16 January 2021 as a classic presence trade fair. This is the very clear vote of today’s meetings of Messe München with the advisory board and board of trustees of “Bau”. Instead, a hybrid format will be realized from 13 to 15 January 2021, giving exhibitors the opportunity to present their innovations to a broad public. The digital part of this event will also be an important part of the classic presence fair “Bau” 2023.

As recently as June, Messe München had announced in agreement with both bodies that the event would be implemented as planned in January 2021 – but with the reservation that it would wait and see how things developed and review the situation at the end of September before exhibitors had made the bulk of their trade fair investments. Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München: “Falling infection figures and the opening of borders in June gave rise to justified hopes of a significant improvement in the situation. Unfortunately, the omens changed significantly in the course of September. Even if it were possible to hold a presence exhibition with our protection and hygiene measures, the designation of more and more risk areas throughout Europe with the associated travel restrictions has now called for this decision. According to our exhibitor survey, which we have conducted in the last few days, especially against the background of the worsening Covid 19 situation, the vast majority of our exhibitors now consider their participation in the presence fair to be unrealistic, since in the current situation it can be assumed that only a few of the originally expected visitors will be on site.

Reinhard Pfeiffer received approval from Dieter Schäfer, the long-standing chairman of the “Bau” advisory board and board of trustees: “The decision made in June was the right one. At that time, it would have been much too early to question ‘Bau’. It was clear to all of us that clarity would have to be achieved by the end of September. It was therefore logical to conduct a survey last week. The advisory board and board of trustees are behind the decision to replace ‘Bau’ in 2021 with a hybrid format.

A postponement of “Bau” was discussed with the advisory board and board of trustees. Martin Hörmann, the deputy chairman of these two bodies, explains: “Postponing the fair was never a serious option for us, because it would have interrupted the two-year innovation cycle that ‘Bau’ has always been based on. International exhibitors and visitors are a brand core of the classic ‘Bau’. Under the current COVID 19 framework conditions, we would not have been able to meet this expectation”.

Compared to previous years, ‘Bau’ 2021 will present itself in a significantly changed appearance. In addition to a compact exhibition area, the hybrid format includes an additional digital offer, especially for exhibitors and visitors who cannot come to Munich due to travel restrictions.

Exhibitors will be able to present themselves in the ICM International Congress Center Munich and in up to two exhibition halls, but forums and special shows will also be staged there. Companies wishing to present themselves on site can choose between compact system stands and individual stand design.

In the digital part of the event, lectures and discussions from the forums will be available to a global audience as a live stream and as recorded videos. In addition, companies have the opportunity to present their products virtually in their own online sessions. The hybrid format also offers virtual networking modules for exchanging ideas with other participants. It is also planned to integrate the traditional “Bau Info Talks” into the hybrid format.

Details of the new format and information on participation options for exhibitors and visitors are expected to be available online at www.bau-muenchen.com from mid-October. Exhibitors who had already firmly booked their stand for the classic presence trade fair will still be able to present themselves on site. Other exhibitors who have already cancelled can reconsider their participation, whether digital or on-site, under the new conditions.