There are only solutions
For the second year in a row I was borrowed by Sweden’s Travel and Tourist Council to be project manager at the exhibition stand at IMEX, the big international meetings fair in Frankfurt.

Prior to the trade fair I spoke diligently with the soon to be participants in the stand. I told them the news that the year’s theme was going to be ABBA, which I saw as a good and marketable symbol for Sweden. The pop group celebrated their 30th anniversary that year.

ABBA look-alikes were hired, their repertoire was completed, air tickets and hotels were reserved, invitations were printed and sent to specially chosen customers and the stage was varnished! Everything was ready - this was going to be good!

On Friday before the fair was to open, I happily sent a mail to the fair organizers in order to present ABBA as Sweden’s theme in the exhibition stand and in that way get some extra PR.

The same afternoon, the organizers write back thanks but no thanks - it is not allowed to play music at the fair this year. The rules have been changed this year and all stands must be quiet.

I felt my pulse rise and I just wanted to ”die”. This was the main attraction and I was here on loan thanks to my competence in arranging such events. I quickly got over the first shock and decided to find a solution.

Even though chaos and all kinds of thoughts ran through my head, I managed to collect myself and think constructively. How can you listen to ABBA without the neighbors hearing? I began to think about a glass box – simply build the whole stand in Plexiglas. But I quickly realized that the costs would go sky-high. Any other ideas? Hmm… if everyone in the public had ear phones, then they could hear the music without the exhibiting neighbors being disturbed by the noise. Was it possible? I immediately called a music arranger to tell him the story and got the relieving news that yes there was a system for this but it was probably already rented. He would look for another one right away in the whole country. After a while he came back with positive news that a company in one of the neighboring countries had enough ear phones for a larger audience. They would send them to Frankfurt as soon as possible.

Yes, the mission was nearly accomplished, even though I had not yet informed the tourist council. I called them and explained what had happened and how sorry I was for this. They took it well and thought that I had come up with an absolutely phenomenal solution.
All said and done I presented it for all of our partners. We presented it to show that Sweden is not only known for ABBA, but also as a front runner for new technologies.

The people who had the privilege of listening to ABBA’s ”The winner takes it all” in the ear phones at the IMEX trade fair felt they were specially chosen since they got ear phones which were limited afterall and the concert was quickly “sold-out”!

At the conclusion of the fair, I received a standing ovation from our partners and the general public for coming up with the solution! Happily, Sweden’s Travel and Tourist Council have since then used ear phones at many other trade fairs and experienced that it is absolutely the best way to get the audience to be fully present at an otherwise noisy fair.

My salvation was that in the chaos I was sufficiently open, honest and creative to find a solution instead of concentrating on the problem - and that was a solution I never knew existed!