Munich will do without the beer festival, but is not willing to suppress the first edition of the new IAA, which was last held in Frankfurt. For the second consecutive year, the Oktoberfest was canceled, which begins at the end of September, but at the beginning of the same month, between 7 and 12, the powerful German association of the automotive industry (VDA) expects to be able to organize the show. of the car. The spokesman of the association highlighted the profound differences between the two events, both of which are able to catalyze the attention of the public and attract thousands if not millions of visitors. “We have planned the IAA in pandemic conditions from the beginning and we are able to propose a sophisticated concept of hygiene in the exhibition halls”, assured Lutz Meyer to the Automobilwoche newspaper.
In addition to the obligation to wear a mask, the organizers have already imagined wide paths, provisions for spacing and powerful devices for filtering the air. The optimism of the VDA is shared by the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter. Bavaria has a strong link with the auto industry: both BMW and MAN are headquartered in Munich, while the city of Audi is in Ingolstadt, an hour’s drive north of the capital. The automotive sector is worth half a million jobs in the region.
In autumn, Germany’s exhibition calendar is quite busy: there are about eighty events, including Automechanika, which the Frankfurt Fair wants to open immediately after the end of the IAA (14 – 16 September). In Munich, the organizers are aiming to reduce travel restrictions, also because for that period the number of vaccinated people will be decidedly higher than it is now. German optimism also applies to the United States, where the Chicago Motor Show will be held between 15 and 19 July, but is not shared by the Japanese JAMA. The partnership chaired by Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s number one, canceled the Tokyo Motor Show scheduled for late autumn.
The season of the great Italian automotive events will begin in June, with the first edition of the former Valentino Park in Turin, that is the Milan Monza Motor Show first postponed and then canceled in 2020. The MiMo will take place between 10 and 13 June at open and without entrance ticket. Then it will be the turn of the traditional 1000 Miglia, which was also held last year: the 39th historical re-enactment is scheduled between 16 and 19. In early July (2-4) in Costa Smeralda it will be the turn of the Poltu Quatu Elegance Competition Classic, now in its sixth edition. The organizers have already anticipated two novelties: an acceleration race on the runway of the Vena Fiorita airport in Olbia and an exhibition of unique Spiaggine in Porto Cervo.
