Standing together, looking ahead, mastering the crisis: In close cooperation with the industry, Prolight + Sound invites to the first BIZLounge. The digital information format for the event community will be first held on Tuesday, 13 April 2021 – originally the opening day of Prolight + Sound. Despite the cancellation of the fair, professionals from the industry will thus have the opportunity to exchange their views with experts via live stream and to deal with the burning issues of the industry in lectures and discussions.
Among other topics, the full-day programme will highlight strategies and framework conditions for a successful restart of the event industry. In addition, participants will receive valuable impulses for the sustainable and resource-saving organisation of events. Moreover, the Prolight + Sound BIZLounge will address the effects of Brexit on the industry as well as education and human resources development in times of corona. Following the 30-minute presentations and discussion rounds, the speakers will take time to answer questions from the participants.
“There is no doubt that nothing can compensate for the face-to-face encounter. Against this background, the Prolight + Sound BIZLounge is not planned as a replacement for the cancelled event at the Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre. Rather, we want to offer people in the hard-hit event industry a high-quality, location-independent opportunity to exchange ideas and find solutions, while we turn our focus together with the industry to the upcoming Prolight + Sound 2022 as an on-site event. We are very pleased about the great commitment of our partners and are looking forward to new approaches for the future of the event industry”, says Mira Wölfel, Director Prolight + Sound.
The Prolight + Sound BIZLounge is being created in cooperation with various industry institutions. These include the associations organised in the Forum Event Industry (Forum Veranstaltungswirtschaft): BDKV (Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry), EVVC (European Association of Event Centres), i.s.d.v. (Community of Interest for Self-Employed Service Providers in the Event Industry), VPLT (The German Entertainment Technology Association), LiveKomm (Federal Association LiveMusicCommission). Other partners include bvvs (Federal Association for Event Safety), DTHG (German Theatre Technical Society), NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), OETHG (Austrian Theatre Technical Society), PEARLE – Live Performance Europe (Performing Arts Employers Association League Europe), and PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association). Moreover, numerous educational institutions will also participate in the format. The speakers include industry experts as well as representatives from business and science.
The programme will be held entirely in English language and is aimed at suppliers and users of technological solutions, event managers in companies and agencies, venue operators as well as students and trainees in the event industry. Free registration is now possible at www.prolight-sound.com/bizlounge.
The next Prolight + Sound will open its doors from 26 to 29 April 2022.
Photo: © Mathias Kutt