An Impressive Comeback for the World’s Top Event

Fu Bingbingg

The five-day IFA 2022 in Berlin， Germany， came to an end on Sept 6. This year， the IFA 2022 was fully returned in person， attracting more than 1，100 exhibitors from 46 countries and regions. Among them， more than 250 Chinese exhibitors， accounting for about a quarter of the total exhibitors. Sustainability， Connectivity， and Smart Home solutions were the big themes at this years IFA 2022 – The proportion of trade visitors among attendees is growing – Strong demand for digital access to IFA.

Positive feedback from global brands and retailers

Despite global challenges like ongoing supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures， the exhibitors at IFA 2022 recorded a huge order volume.

Dr. Sara Warneke， GFUs Managing Director， said： "After the pandemic-related break， IFA made an impressive comeback with the most important trends for products and solutions in the fields of consumer electronics and home appliances as well as related industries， especially in the area of sustainability. It was once again the proven meeting place for industry and trade， trade visitors， the media and， of course， consumers."

Martin Ecknig， the Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin said： “Its been fantastic to see our halls packed once again. Ive had really positive feedback from all the global brands and retailers that I spoke to， and Im especially pleased that we recorded such large numbers of industry professionals and trade visitors attending IFA Berlin. We are on track for IFA to regain its full strength in 2023.”

Berlins Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey said：“Showcasing smart innovations and energy-efficient technologies， this leading trade fair is a driving force for the economy and for markets worldwide. Its one of Berlins flagships， not only as a trade fair and congress， but also as a leading European hub for innovation and technology. IFA 2022 is a beacon of sorts， not least because it stands for a resurgence after two difficult years.”

Sustainability key for consumer&home electronics

Sustainability was one of the biggest themes at this years IFA 2022， alongside intelligent connectivity of devices and Smart Home solutions.

This was also reflected in some of this years IFA Keynotes， with Hakan Bulgurlu， the Chief Executive Officer of Ar？elik， issuing a passionate plea to the consumer and home electronics industry to collaborate and do its part to contain climate change and reduce pollution. Gwenaelle Avice-Huet， the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer of Schneider Electric， expanded on the theme， exploring how Smart Home devices can make our homes more sustainable.

Another big topic was intelligent connectivity and how it enables seamless experiences. Cristiano Amon， the Chief Executive Officer at Qualcomm， explored the huge potential of connected services and devices in the future. George Zhao， the CEO of Honor， and Tony Ran， the President of Honor Europe， showed how these experiences are coming to life already， while William Tian， the President of Huawei Consumer Business Group Western Europe， showcased the integration of devices from the smartphone and smart office all the way to the health and fitness space.

Strong demand for digital access to IFA 2022

Digital channels like IFA Virtual， the new IFA App and across IFAs social media platforms were in strong demand， garnering more than 1.6 million impressions on all social media channels alone.

Videos streamed across IFAs own channels and that of exhibitors and keynote partners reached more than 11.8 million views.

As always， IFAs innovation hub IFA NEXT was packed with visitors， who wanted to see the latest and most cutting-edge ideas from start-ups， innovators， research institutes and forward-thinking businesses.

The sourcing show for OEMs and ODMs returned to the fairgrounds at Messe Berlin this year and attracted huge interest from industry professionals.

The IFA+ Summit brought together leading experts from business， politics and science to discuss the future of globalisation – and de-globalisation. While most agreed that without global trade our world would suffer a significant drop in both wealth and quality of life， the discussions also showed that global trade flows have to be made much more sustainable， so that our world can contain climate change.

SHIFT Mobility - The mobility event without limits

The two-day innovation conference SHIFT Mobility 2022 was a great success. The convention brought together automotive companies like Volkswagen， Ford， BMW and Mercedes Benz， tech giants like AWS and Qualcomm， newcomers like Lilium， Pivt， Lexgo and Autobrains， alongside top researchers from places like the Fraunhofer Institute and the University of Toronto， plus very young startups.

Berlin Photo Week

The fourth edition of BERLIN PHOTO WEEK attracted more than 20，000 photo enthusiasts to Arena Berlin， with a large proportion of young photo and video fans. Millions more followed the event online.

Sommergarten

IFA 2022s famous “Sommergarten” this year was fully integrated into the show， offering attendees a place to rest and relax in the sunshine. On Saturday， the Sommergarten turned into a popular place for family entertainment， while on Sunday thousands of fans came to watch a live recording of one of Germanys most popular podcasts –Fest & Flauschig， hosted by satirist Jan B？hmermann and musician Olli Schulz.