IFA 2020 will be an invite-only event observing strict attendee limits

Photo courtesy of IFA

IFA 2020 in Berlin will be the first tech conference to take place after the COVID-19 pandemic put to a halt any large in-person gatherings. The event will take place from September 3 to 5. In April, the organizers teased a conference that would take on an "innovative new concept" as the government of the city of Berlin banned events with over 5,000 participants until at least October 24. And so, IFA 2020 will be closed to the public. It'll be invite-only and split into four smaller events, with no more than 1,000 attendees allowed for each experience every day. 

The four events include the central IFA Global Press Conference, a combined IFA Next and IFA Shift Mobility event, an IFA Global Markets event to help companies rebuild their supply chains, and one to offer the usual meeting spaces and lounges for companies to network. 

The main press conference will be limited to two to three keynote stages. The organizers will curate for around 800 journalists so that the number of reporters and production staff are kept within the allowed capacity. 

The organizers say that they are working closely with Germany's public health authorities to ensure "social distancing, careful crowd control, and other effective public hygiene measures are all in place." 

"After all the event cancellations during the past months, our industry urgently needs a platform where it can showcase its innovation, so that it can recover and rebound," said Jens Heithecker, the executive director of IFA Berlin.

He added that digital events could only do so much to substitute the "immediacy, hands-on experience and human connections" of events like IFA.

As expected, there will also be digital events for those who can't or choose not to attend in person. 

Source: The Verge