Giovanni Vitaloni, president of Mido.
MILAN Italy—Mido provided more details yesterday for what will be its upcoming Digital Edition of the international optical trade exhibition and conference which will be held from Saturday, June 5 through Monday, June 7 this year. Mido will also debut a new 360° format that will guarantee an innovative experience for business-to-business exhibitors and attendees, with a new platform to debut on May 28. The next in-person edition of Mido is to be held at Rho-Pero center from Feb. 12 to 14, 2022, organizers said.

At a global online press event yesterday, through an exchange between the president of Mido and ANFAO, Giovanni Vitaloni, and sociologist Francesco Morace, founder of Future Concept Lab, there was a presentation from ANFAO on the state of the Italian economy, the outlook and scenario of the eyewear sector, and the post-pandemic prospects of the national and international social situation.
 
Vitaloni reinforced that the goal for Mido 2021's Digital Edition is to reconfirm the presence of exhibitors and visitors and, with the debut of the online approach, to expand the pool of participants beyond the 160 countries from around the world who were present at the previous Mido edition in 2019. He said, “We  will surprise you with an extraordinary new format, an immersive 'widespread experience.' If the whole world cannot be in Milan, then Mido is going all over the world. A formula that allows everyone to participate and to safeguard two of our fundamental qualities: internationality and concrete business opportunities."
 
He added, "We have conceived the virtual Mido and the platform as key hubs to maintain and develop, at such a complex time, one of the most strategic sectors for the global economy."

The international scope of the eyewear trade show and the focus on the market are at the core of Mido’s new initiative and starting on May 28, the platform for the newly created B2B experience will make it possible to put buyers and exhibitors in contact.  

The Mido event will open on June 5 with a special guest, the photographer Albert Watson, who will narrate the transformative moment the world is going through and the new ways of seeing everything that surrounds us: beauty, living together, nature, technology, and the future. The event, scheduled for June 6, goes straight to the heart of Mido, addressing two fundamental aspects of the eyewear industry: fashion and design, with talents including four representatives of the fashion worlds and four promising designers in the sector.
A presentation from WGSN will examine Future Consumer 2022, Millennial and Gen-X Priorities, The Future Shopper e Eyewear Trends. A particular emphasis will be placed on innovative and eco-sustainable materials thanks to the contribution of Materially and the three other events scheduled during the trade show: Biomaterially, Transformed Waste, Perfect Beauty.
 
Stands, lounges and rooms become virtual, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day as spaces for public engagement that, until December 31, will offer events, meetings, and business opportunities, with the exhibition of products and the possibility of online trading. 
 
The Digital Edition of Mido 2021 will feature once again the BeStore Award, which will also be enriched with a new category. This year, in addition to the Design and Innovation prizes awarded by an international panel of experts, the Your BeStore award will also be presented, giving all visitors the chance to vote for their favorite optical center through the platform.
 
“We wanted to maximize international business opportunities by offering a solution that would bypass the constraints of the health emergency," noted Vitaloni. "We were inspired by the challenge posed by many operators to look to the future by innovating, to create concrete opportunities and business space to relaunch the sector. The B2B platform may develop the positioning of the sector’s best players."

Exhibitors who want to take part can contact the Mido secretariat either by email at
mido@mido.it or by going to the Mido website and clicking on Exhibitor and digit e-mail, password to complete the profile.