CeBIT to go "back to its roots"

CEBIT MANAGERS are having an "image crisis" as one big name exhibitor after another appears to be thinking hard about the Hannover computer exhibition.

Board member Ernst Raue told German hacks it is "time to act". He wants the CeBIT to become a professional convention again.

"The CeBIT of the future is going to be a totally different kind of event, but it will continue to be a driving force in the digital world," he said.

Competing trade shows have got a much clearer profile, and well-known companies are planning to do their own events, it appears. Finnish firm Nokia - which sees itself as a manufacturer of "mobile multimedia computers" - plans to do exactly that, as the former computer manufacturer Apple has been doing since leaving CeBIT in 1999.

Two weeks ago, the local newspaper Hannover Allgemeine Zeitung reported Apple might return to this year's CeBIT, and the German media were quick to spread the news. But it was just wishful thinking, as Apple will not take part in this year's Hangover party and probably will never again.

Nokia, Motorola, LG and other big name exhibitors are contemplating whether they will attend CeBIT in the future. This year's exhibition needs 10 per cent less space because it's a shrinking CeBIT. The guys running the show don't think it's a crisis, but they do admit something has to be done.

What's going to be new? First of all, CeBIT will cease to try pleasing everybody as it has been doing in the last few years. The exhibits are going to be arranged in special areas. The Exhibition will last only 6 instead of 7 days, and the beginning four days will be focused on trade visitors.

The good news. Hotel rooms are hopefully going to be a bit less expensive. At least the trade show managers are trying to talk to the Hannover hoteliers about that, as they were often charging €400 or €500 during CeBIT time in days of yore. µ