Sibec Europe is partnering with FIBO Global Fitness and EuropeActive to move its event to Cologne, Germany.
Sibec EU was originally scheduled to take place at the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia, Italy, from Nov. 2-4. It is now set for Nov. 2-4 in Cologne. FIBO is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Cologne.
The location is being moved to help attendees and vendors who planned to attend both events. FIBO was moved from June to November right after Sibec due to COVID-19 concerns.
Sibec EU is a hosted buyer event for commercial club operators and fitness equipment and services suppliers. It is part of Questex, which also owns Sibec North America (to be held May 17-20 in Phoenix) and Club Industry.
“Questex’s Sibec EU event complements FIBO, and with the challenges our industry continues to face, we believe that at this critical time it is important to show the world that event competitors can come together for the greater good of the industries served,” Club Industry/Sibec Director Marty McCallen said.
Sibec EU will be part of the educational and networking events leading up to FIBO. Also included in what the groups are calling FIBO Week is the educational and networking event European Health & Fitness Forum on Nov. 3. In addition, three other annual EuropeActive events will take place during FIBO Week: The European Fitness Associations Forum on Nov. 4, The President’s Councils Summit, also on Nov. 4, and the International Standards Meeting on Nov. 5.
“We are very pleased to now be working with Sibec in addition to our strong partnership with EuropeActive that we have grown together,” FIBO Global Fitness Event Director Silke Frank said in the announcement. “The cooperation holds enormous potential and many benefits for the entire fitness industry, which will be able to take advantage of an extensive range of educational opportunities during FIBO Week and boost their business at the same time. We are united by a common vision to lead the fitness industry into a strong future after the biggest crisis in its history.”
EuropeActive CEO Andreas Paulsen said: “With this partnership we are making sectoral history at a very challenging time for our industry where we need vision, innovation and impact through collaboration like never before. Over the past year, EuropeActive has proactively built horizontal strategic partnerships with actors across Europe and the world to represent, protect and promote our sector as effectively as possible. This partnership with FIBO and Questex/Sibec will enable us to ensure that leaders, experts and professionals from all parts of our ecosystem will come together in the first week of November to discuss and define our sectoral future in unison.”