IBC to go ahead in December

IBC will go ahead in December, CEO Michael Crimp has confirmed.

Speaking at a press conference, the event’s CEO said that a combination of Covid-19 vaccination roll-outs and its industry survey of visitors led to the decision to move back from its regular September slot to December 3-6. 

The company had previously stated confidence in staging an event in 2021, with December proposed as a potential fall-back. Now the company has taken that option.

“December offers us the best opportunity to deliver a safe event,” Crimp said, adding that there had been “a shift in sentiment the more people we asked.”

He said that September was not ruled out because it was impossible, but “because it would be tight” to arrange everything by then. The CEO also stated a reluctance to stage Europe’s first major event since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Michael Crimp

Pointing to the company’s survey, Crimp said that only one in ten said they would not attend an event by December, while 96% of respondents were confident in being vaccinated by December. 

The CEO surmised that this is “the best and most sensible” course of action for the event.

Crimp had previously spoken on the registration process, confirming that  registration will take “about twice as long as normal” in order to ensure that IBC has the appropriate information in place for its track and trace system, and that there will be an “opt-in photo pass and facial recognition system.” 

While a shift from Autumn to Winter is unusual for IBC regulars, Crimp assured the press that “Amsterdam in early December is actually a lot of fun,” and that there should not be a clash between tourists visiting the city for the Christmas period.