Exhibition World Supplements Russia Supplement | Page 14

St Petersburg
t Petersburg is one of the most
beautiful cities in the world, the
cultural capital of Russia, and the
largest Northern city. A former capital, it
is also the second biggest Russian city and
inhabited by over five million people.
Located in the centre of an intersection
of sea, river, and land routes, St
Petersburg is not only an acclaimed
tourist centre (8.3m visited the city last
year – a figure Elena Volodkevich of
the city’s Tourist Information Bureau
expects “only to grow”), but also a rapidly
developing metropolis and the largest
transport hub in Russia’s North West.
With a modern airport at Pulkovo,
the city can now be reached from most
European capitals in under four hours
and is also accessible by cruise ships
and ferries via the Baltic. Passengers
disembarking from ships can visit the city
without a visa for up to 72 hours.
Alexander Martynov of the city’s
Tourism Committee admitted to EW
that, the visa question was still “a big
challenge”, but noted conversations were
“ongoing”. He said a special fan I.D. visa
waiver for the 2018 FIFA World Cup had
been particularly successful, with half a
million footballer supporters using them.
The visa question is certainly being
addressed at the very top: President
Putin, speaking in parliament in
February, urged lawmakers to look at the
possibility of introducing e-visas.
For exhibitors keen to just get ‘in
and out’ fast, the huge and modern
Expoforum complex is close to Pulkovo,
together with its on-site Hilton hotel.
For those event professionals keen to
sample St Petersburg’s delights, then the
historic centre of the city - a UNESCO
World Heritage site – is a delight to visit.
The city has 221 museums, 2,000
libraries and over 80 theatres. Every
year the city hosts over 100 festivals and
various art and culture competitions,
including 50 international ones.
And, if your exhibition falls during
the White Nights, then your after-party
can go on into the early hours. Just be
sure you don’t get the wrong side of the
bridges when they rise for the night on
many of the islands.
Organisers have a range of non-
14
Supplement
Russia’s
Northern
window
on the
exhibition
world
traditional venues to consider, including
many of the cultural institutions, as well
as Expoforum’s sister venue Lenexpo.
St Petersburg’s Railway Museum is
making a play to host large events and,
with 57,000sqm of space, could provide
an unconventional exhibition backdrop.
The local St Petersburg Chamber of
Commerce, Russia’s oldest chamber, is
a useful portal for organisers looking
for information. It also runs 100 events
a year itself and gets involved in many
bilateral roadshow events.
The new city CVB, formed in 2014, is
another useful resource and it runs a
venue and supplier affiliate programme
which has 80 members.
St Petersburg boasts over 400
convention and exhibition halls and
267 organising companies and agencies
are active in the sector, so its boast of
becoming Russia’s MICE capital is no idle
one.
St Petersburg’s eventprofs help
manage 300 large events held in the
city each year, including some 30 major
rotating events.
The new CVB submitted 18 bids for
international conventions in 2018 and
in the first four months of 2019 it has
put in nine. They have high hopes of
clinching a good proportion of those, and
exhibitions feature large.
Last November, the Northern capital
was chosen as the venue for the 85th
international congress of UFI, the global
association of the exhibition industry.
Coming up are the 25th European
Veterinary Congress FECAVA (4–7
September 2019), the 43rd Cineposium of
the Association of Film Commissioners
International (13-16 September 2019),
The Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2020,
the World Energy Congress and the
International Mathematical Congress
2022.
As well as the obvious cultural strong
suit, sectors being targeted for events by
the city include medical and research
science, as well as I.T.
The city is a member of the Global
Destination Sustainability Index and
is focusing hard on implementing
international environmental standards
in its events infrastructure.
St Petersburg claims to be the most
tolerant city in Russia, with 268 different
confessions and religious associations in
the city.
The Northern window on world
exhibitions has never looked so inviting.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk