April 13, 2022
Who is going to Light + Building 2022?
Image Source: Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Petra Welzel
Show organizers ratchet up the messaging, citing a study that “guarantees” safe air quality
FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Light + Building is the world’s largest lighting event that typically attracts over 200,000 attendees and over 2,500 exhibitors to Messe Frankfurt in Germany. Lighting people from all over the world are drawn to the bi-annual show that exhibits the latest lighting innovations and often takes multiple days to explore all of the glorious lighting products in numerous exhibit halls.
The last Light + Building was held in 2018. The 2020 iteration was postponed and eventually canceled due to Covid. The 2022 event was originally scheduled for mid-March, but on two-months’ notice was rescheduled and rebranded as the “Autumn Edition” now taking place October 2-6. So lighting patrons will miss out on another legendary St. Patrick’s Day at O’Reilly’s Irish Pub and will instead have to “settle for” a German Octoberfest experience.
A scaled back event
Light + Building will not likely attract 2,500+ exhibitors this year. Currently, with less than 6 months before the show, the exhibitor count is 1,157. In March, Hall 1 on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds was being utilized as a first aid center for Ukraine refugees who fled to Frankfurt, which reminded us that months before LightFair 2021 in New York, the Javits Center was a large-scale vaccine administration center.
A safe show – with research to back it up
Light + Building organizers from Messe Frankfurt – together with a team of researchers from the Institute of Building and Indoor Climate Technology – have published recent research that examined the level of air contamination in typical trade fair halls to evaluate air quality and hygiene risk. Messe Frankfurt seemingly went the extra kilometer by trying to demonstrate show safety in the form of a white paper, concluding that that “fresh air volumes specified by Messe Frankfurt were sufficient to guarantee good and hygienically safe air quality on all days” of a recent event.
The effect of the Russia-Ukraine War
It’s impossible to predict the European geopolitical climate 5 ½ months from now, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine certainly may cause international lighting people to delay buying plane tickets to Germany. Lviv, Ukraine is about 770 miles (1240km) from Frankfurt. That is approximately the same distance between Seattle and San Francisco. Or between Edmonton and Winnipeg.
Will North America show up?
Some Americans with Covid PTSD may still feel that driving 15 miles to a restaurant is an unnecessary burden, so traveling across the globe for a lighting event may be a hard-pass for some. However Light + Building often attracts lighting die-hards from design firms, academia and manufacturing.
IALD Enlighten Americas is being held in California during the three days that precede Light + Building, which may cause some specifiers to choose either Palm Springs or Frankfurt, but not both. Some U.S. manufacturers liken the trip to Frankfurt as necessary to view future trends – as a U.S. fashion executive would invest in a trip to Paris for Fashion Week.
