SMM goes digital
Due to the global corona pandemic, the world's leading maritime trade fair SMM will take place from 2 to 5 February 2021 as a purely digital event (Source: HMC / Michael Zapf)
SMM organiser, Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) has announced that the event, previously postponed from early September this year until February 2021, will now take place as a virtual meeting place called: SMM Digital – The Maritime Business Hub. Exhibitors and customers from around the world will be able to discuss today’s and tomorrow’s maritime challenges online, and follow conferences featuring top-ranking experts, HMC said.
Bernd Aufderheide, HMC president and CEO, explained: “After close consultations with the exhibition committee and government institutions, we have decided to host SMM 2021 as a purely digital event. The progress of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting restrictions have rendered it impossible to come up with a reliable plan for a physical trade fair.”
A new digital platform, which will remain in place after the four-day February event until SMM 2022, will enable SMM participants to network and share information about innovative products and industry news, HMC said. This would provide a basis for exhibitors and partners to present themselves continuously until the next physical gathering and to intensify their business networks over that period.
The February event will come just two months after HMC stages its first digital trade fair – WindEnergy Hamburg – in December. Aufderheide noted that the experience gained from these two digital events would have a positive impact on future physical events. “By leveraging various digital services, we will be able to further increase the international scope of our trade fairs and provide our customers with substantial added value,” he said.
