Mothballed global exhibition summit to reopen in Shanghai

The Global Exhibition CEO Shanghai Summit – suspended for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – is being revived, running on June 19-21 in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai city in East China.

More than 300 participants are attending, including executives from international exhibitions groups and institutions from the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy and other countries. Others include representatives of industry associations from Southeast Asian countries and regions, as well as heads of national industry authorities, associations and exhibitions groups.

The summit had been held six times since its inception in 2014. In 2018, it was listed as one of the three leading international forums supported by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, or UFI.

"It is an important platform for Shanghai to build itself into an international exhibition hub," said Chen Xianjin, UFI honorary president.

"The restart of the summit is a sign of Shanghai's return to the center of the global exhibitions market," Chen added.

Shanghai is said to attach great importance to the development of its exhibitions industry. At the start of the year, local authorities were working on support policies to help revive and boost the sector.

According to data from major venues in Shanghai, plans are for nearly 300 exhibitions to be held in the city this year with a total exhibitions area exceeding 14 million square meters.