The upcoming OutDoor by ISPO, dubbed the “Global Summit Edition” and scheduled to be held in Munich on Oct. 5-7, 2021, will focus more on the conference component in combination with the European Outdoor Summit and offer a scaled-down exhibition space with pre-built booths for a maximum of 80 to 100 brands. The European Outdoor Group, which is organizing the event in cooperation of with Messe München, said at a webinar today that the rescheduled event (originally scheduled for July 2021 but moved to the autumn because of Covid) will fall between order periods and will thus have no actual seasonal product relevance.
In terms of attendance, the whole event will likely be limited to 1,500 to 2,000 visitors, not including exhibitors and staff. Two conference blocks in the morning and afternoon of 2.5 hours each will be complemented by socializing events in the evening with ample time to browse the exhibition area in between. The conference itself will be live-streamed on the internet, making the event hybrid and accessible to anyone interested who may not be able to travel to Munich or would prefer to attend from home.
The curated content of the conference – a preliminary program and speaker names will be released soon – is expected to focus on the post-Covid consumer, environmental issues, sourcing, the circular economy and more. Arne Strate, secretary-general of the EOG, pointed out that will certainly also serve the retail sector, making the event of interest to all players in the outdoor industry. We feel that it could also interest the sporting goods sector at large.
Jeanette Friedrich, global ISPO Group director, pointed out that a limited group of end consumers will be admitted to the event through the ISPO Open Innovation platform to spark a direct exchange of Covid experiences and post-Covid expectations between the industry and consumers.
