Electronics fair IFA in Berlin opens for private visitors

The International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) reopened to the public on Friday for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic in Berlin. Several thousand people came to the exhibition halls under the radio tower in the morning.

The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey (SPD), was one of the first guests at the electronics fair on Friday. “The whole IFA is geared towards sustainability and energy efficiency,” she said, referring to efforts to save energy in the face of scarcity. “It starts with changing your own behavior,” Giffey said. “When you leave the room, turn off the light. If you’re not at home: turn the heating down.”

More than 1,100 exhibitors will be presenting new consumer electronics and household appliances by Tuesday. In 2019, before the corona pandemic, more than 1,9000 exhibitors were at the IFA.

This year’s trends again include connected devices, voice control and artificial intelligence. When it comes to household appliances, the focus is on energy efficiency and saving water.

Tickets are only available online, the prices are the same as in 2019. A day ticket costs 17.50 euros.

Because of Corona, there was a greatly reduced edition in 2020. Last year the fair was canceled entirely. This year there are no restrictions due to the pandemic. The organizers recommend wearing a mask. On the past press and trade visitor days, however, masks were the exception.

The Funkausstellung (IFA) was founded in Berlin in 1924. While a new edition of the electronics fair in 2023 has been secured, there is still no contract for the edition in the anniversary year 2024. The rights holder GFU, the event company Clarion and Messe Berlin are still negotiating about it. Neither the fair nor the GFU commented on the details at the start of the fair.

On Thursday it became known that the trade fair reported its former chairman of the supervisory board, Christian Göke. He is accused of taking internal documents with him before moving to the IFA owner GFU/Clarion. Negotiations on the future of the IFA are currently underway. So far, your stay in Berlin has only been secured until next year, 2023.

Broadcast: rbb24, September 2nd, 2022, 8:20 a.m