EICMA, YOUTH AND URBAN MOBILITY AT THE HEART OF THE 2023 EDITION
The spotlights of the most important stage for the two-wheel industry and its community of enthusiasts are ready to light up again. Back in the pavilions of Fiera Milano in Rho, from Nov. 7 to 12, is the spectacle of EICMA, the International Exhibition of Two Wheels.
Edition number 80 of the world’s longest-running exhibition event was presented this morning at the Piccolo Teatro Strehler – Scatola Magica in Milan. “A place that is not accidental, because,” explained EICMA President Pietro Meda, “to some extent EICMA is the organization of a complex play, which must be able to excite and satisfy both the general public and the exhibitors who take the stage we set up for them. And the numbers of the 2023 “billboard,” returning strongly to pre-pandemic parameters, already herald a successful edition. In fact, 1700 brands will fill the eight pavilions of this Edition, two more than in 2022.
Very significant and important are the returns, both among the Manufacturers and among the companies of the entire supply chain; 28 percent are instead new exhibitors, while 64 percent of the companies present this year come from abroad representing as many as 45 countries. “The latter is a sign of the strategic centrality and of our international attractiveness, as well as a confirmation,” pointed out EICMA CEO Paolo Magri during the press conference, “of the topicality of a dynamic exhibition model that is increasingly rich in content and special initiatives.
Two, among others, are the brand new exhibition themes and areas of interest, which connote EICMA’s commitment for this 2023 Edition: the EICMA Esports Arena and an area dedicated to Urban Mobility. The former will be a space entirely dedicated to the world of electronic sports and motorsport video games, which will host a rich schedule of initiatives, including the finals of the four-stage online motocross championship, which EICMA launched in recent days throughout Europe and the United States and which is being played in recent weeks.
“A project created to involve the young and very young, and,” commented President Meda, “also a tool for companies in the sector to aim for tomorrow’s market. There is certainly no shortage of young people at EICMA, but with this initiative, together with that of the NFTs launched last year and which continues, we want to introduce a sort of ‘EICMA algorithm’ on the web to engage our audience and bring them to live a direct experience of passion among the stands.”
The second new feature of EICMA, the Urban Mobility area, on the other hand, emphasizes the institutional value of the event. It is the CEO of the organizing company himself, Paolo Magri, who emphasizes “how very important in recent years has been the work to develop advocacy and public affair activities in favor of our entailed and the opportunities for discussion and training for top managers in the sector.”
“The Area destined for urban mobility,” Magri went on to explain, “will welcome companies, institutions and, above all, startups in the sector, to which we are offering an international showcase thanks to the support of ICE, the Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies, but it will also host talks and informative meetings: the aim is to represent how much two-wheelers, pedal and motor, are already and will increasingly be a concrete answer to a new and more complex demand for mobility that comes from the city. This space, promoted with ANCMA, the association of manufacturers and the entire supply chain, is a seed in the soil of EICMA that we want to grow and is also configured as a privileged place to listen to the instances of businesses and citizens.”
Also present at this morning’s press conference as speakers were Giacomo Biraghi, an international urban policy expert, and Alessandro Tommasi, founder of Nos, a space for activating and listening to new generations.
During his speech Biraghi stressed, “mobility has always determined cities. But we know for sure how much the development, creativity, and inclusiveness of an urban area are a function of the fluidity and freedom of everyone’s movements. EICMA 2023 with its exhibitors makes this point of view its own to develop and integrate it into its 100-year history.”
For Tommasi, “urban mobility is constantly evolving because it mirrors the rapid changes in consumption and demands, especially of the youngest. From attention to the environment to technology, the macro-trends of recent years are also profoundly changing the way we move and EICMA 2023 is the space to address these changes as well.”
Still regarding business-related aspects, EICMA then implemented for this edition a new platform for preregistration and scheduling of B2B meetings (EICMA business meeting), further developed digital services for journalists and communication operators. Another 2023 novelty, inside Hall 19, is the setting up of a specific working space dedicated to accredited content creators and influencers, which will flank the large press room.
Last but not least, there will be the well-established proposal of the e-bike test ride area, the EICMA EFFECT photo set, where EICMA photographers will capture free of charge the public’s emotions ignited by the visiting experience, and the Temporary Bikers Shop, the commercial space dedicated to motorcyclists where they can buy accessories, clothing, helmets, components and equipment of all kinds for motorcycles and much more.
The week of EICMA will then be marked, of course, by passion and the many product presentations, new products and world premieres, and the endless initiatives that exhibitors will offer at their stands. Added to this will be the unfailing spectacle offered in the outdoor MotoLive area, where the public will be able to enjoy the packed schedule of initiatives free of charge, including shows, motorcycle test rides, music, entertainment, performances by stuntmen, titled competitions on the motocross track set up for the occasion, Freestyle and Acrobatic Trial runs.
All in all, a very rich exhibition proposal, which EICMA fine-tunes every year also thanks to institutional partners and sponsors.
So everything is ready to unleash that EICMA EFFECT chosen again this year as the slogan and goal of this edition now just around the corner. November 7 and 8 will be the days dedicated to industry professionals, with the exclusive press day on the first day and the opening to the press and operators on the second, while from Thursday 9 to Sunday 12 gates open to the general public.
Tickets, 19 euros for adults, are on sale at the exclusive online ticket shop www.eicma.it, the only official sales channel.N ICON: THE THRUXTON FINAL EDITION
