Kobe International Convention Center in Japan will have hosted two large events by the end of August, with the International Jewellery Kobe (IJK) exhibition and the Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology’s 49th IVR Conference being held at the venue.
IJK has already been successfully held 9-11 August and was the first large-scale event to take place in Kobe for five-months. There were 200 companies exhibiting, including local pearl dealers from Kobe where 70% of the world’s pearls are processed and sorted.
Visitors per day were limited to 5,000 under current national guidelines, and organisers and convention center staff took many measures to ensure the safety of buyers, exhibitors, staff, and attendees, which number around 6,000 people over the course of the show.
All visitors underwent temperature checks via thermal readers at the entrances and were required to wear masks. Hand sanitisation products where posted at all entrances, exits, and high traffic points in the venue. Signage and staff were also out in force in and outside the venue. Ventilation technology meant the air in the venue was changed every 10 minutes and qualified medical staff were on hand to look after anyone feeling unwell.
Aisles between stands were widened and break and dining area seating was strategically placed to maintain social distance.
The KICC will also host, 25-27 August, the 49th IRV conference, which annually attracts around 1,800 participants.
Organised by the Japanese Society of Interventional Radiology, this year’s IVR conference will be held at the Kobe Portopia Hotel in the Convention Center and will be a hybrid event for the first time in its history.
Although organisers had initially chosen to postpone this year’s conference due to Covid-19, they found that there was strong sentiment among members and stakeholders to meet and go ahead with the conference. The new hybrid platform will allow attendees unable to travel, or those who prefer to participate remotely, to attend sessions online at the same time as live attendees and gives them the option to access sessions on demand via online recordings.
The Kobe Convention Bureau continues to work alongside its partners to provide a variety of solutions to organisers looking to run events during this challenging time.
