That certainly seems to be the stance of the organisers, whose current Covid measures are listed here https://www.highendsociety.de/hygiene-measures-813.html
What will be different?
There are going to be far fewer trade visitors this time around. Many Asian countries are still imposing long quarantine periods on arriving/returning travellers, which makes the trip impractical for their residents. Many for whom the Munich Show was more of a jolly than an essential trip will also choose to pass. Those decisions are far from consistent, so for instance I am aware of Japanese manufacturers who will attend and others who won’t. Audio Technique, doyenne of Chinese language magazines will not be attending – but have taken steps to ensure that they will still receive show coverage.
Many US manufacturers have scaled back their attendance while most of the US-based record re-issue houses won’t be attending – simply because it isn’t essential: they can ship records and their distributors can announce, stock and sell new titles whether they are there or not. And if they’ve got something serious to announce they can always use Axpona, which is a lot closer to home. It ain’t Munich, but with a show-starved media circling, they can pretty much guarantee coverage of some sort – enough to set off the internet echo chamber.
Visitor numbers are harder to call. Reluctance to travel or attend large public events is definitely going to have an impact, but it’s hard to say how big that impact will be or, how much it will be counteracted by the public’s desire to re-engage with the show. The enforced gap in proceedings has allowed the backlog of significant products to accumulate and for many visitors it will be their first opportunity to hear products that have been making serious waves since the last show. Indeed, since we all last gathered in Munich, Wilson has launched both the XVX and the Alexx V, CH Precision has launched the 10 Series and Wadax has released their Reference Server, all products that have created a considerable stir. AudioQuest has (finally) completed its Dragon cable series, dCS has introduced the APEX mods and SME has launched the Model 60. Stenheim has released the Reference Ultime 2 and Magico the M9 – although whether the M9s will be in Munich who knows?
If I was forced to guess (and it’s only a guess) I suspect that numbers will be down slightly, but nowhere near as low as the doom-mongers predict and I for one have no problem with that. To me it’s the quality of the experience that matters, rather than the numbers. The thinner crowds allow each individual a better chance of a better time and allow exhibitors more time to engage.
Taking steps…
Anybody travelling to the show, especially if you are travelling from outside the EU:
Be prepared to prove your vaccination status.
Bring masks (just in case).
Be aware that many of the public in Europe take social distancing seriously and that crowding or jostling other visitors at the show is likely to be unwelcome.
