Picture from left to right: Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere and Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director/CEO of UFI.
The 2018 UFI European Conference will be held in Verona, Italy, and hosted by Veronafiere. It will take place from Wednesday, 2 May until Friday, 4 May. The collaboration was agreed upon in a joint meeting between Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director/CEO and Veronafiere President, Maurizio Danese, in Verona at the end of June.
As the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, UFI organises annual industry conferences in Europe and Asia-Pacific in addition to the UFI Global Congress. The UFI European Conference is organised in May of each year and brings together more than 200 industry professionals from all over Europe and beyond. It has previously been hosted in Cologne (2017), Basel (2016), and Istanbul (2015). The conference is open to UFI members and non-members. Based on data from Explori, a global UFI research partner, participants rate the conference regularly among the very best opportunities for industry networking and best practise learning in the industry.
“In 2018, it will have been exactly 20 years since UFI last held a major industry event in Verona – and we look forward to coming back”, says Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director/CEO. “Our delegates can already look forward to a unique event, packed with networking, timely content, and some very special Italian moments in the programme.”
The UFI European Conference will be hosted by Veronafiere, an UFI member since 1932. The company is the leading direct organiser of exhibitions in Italy, and Italy’s number two in terms of sales turnover. Veronafiere’s venue consists of 309,000 sqm of available exhibitions space, 155,000 sqm of which is indoor space divided into 13 halls. The UFI European Conference will take place in the Veronafiere Congress Centre.
“Twenty years after celebrating its Centenary, Veronafiere is home once again in 2018 to an important international meeting of UFI,” said Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere. “Over these two decades, the world has changed and with it the way ‘trade fairs are held’. Yet the principles underlying this extraordinary sector are still extremely valid and up-to-date: the sharing of knowledge, experiences, information and culture, as well as meetings between people. The 2018 UFI European Congress scheduled in Verona coincides with Veronafiere’s 120th anniversary. It is an opportunity to focus on a sector that still today creates jobs, as well as ensuring outstanding marketing leverage for businesses and allied trade in local areas. Such activity is expanding on very high-tech markets, such as the USA and China, testifying to its impressive relevance even in a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence. Lastly, for Veronafiere and Verona itself, such recognition from UFI is a matter of pride and a sign that we have worked and invested well; it also indicates that Verona over the years has flown its flag with professionalism and honour even in such a fascinating and complex field as trade exhibitions.”
