Baselworld introduces the Forum at 2020 edition, Michel Loris-Melikoff, managing director of Baselworld has announced.

The Forum is another platform newly created by the management of Baselworld, to encourage open debates, giving rise to exchanges in a setting conducive to reflection, exchange, creativity, encounters and the birth of new ideas. 

The Forum which will be a new focal point of the show, with 250 seats, will be open to all – professionals and the general public in Hall 1, at Basel City, Switzerland from April 30 to May 05, 2020.

“Baselworld is building the industry’s largest global community platform,” said Loris-Melikoff in a press statement. “Meeting, doing business, but also exchanging, reflecting and informing each other, the exhibition is a particularly favourable place for a Forum, open to all, whose conferences are accessible not only to the general public on site, but also to the greatest number via the livestreams on digital platforms.”

He explained many major themes will be addressed at the forum. Some of the themes include: Switzerland’s position and its ability to innovate in the luxury industry, the pre-owned market, digital transformation, tomorrow’s retail, the Chinese market, the evolution of social networks, connected watches, the blockchain at the service of our industries, responsible supply-chains, artificial intelligence, tomorrow’s luxury experience, and much more.

More than 50 speakers renowned for their expertise will convene at Baselworld to exchange their vision and expertise. This list includes François-Henry Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet, Jean-Claude Biver, the Ambassador Nicolas Bideau Chief of Présence Suisse, Google, Ian Rogers and Frédéric Arnault from the LVMH group, Aurel Bacs from the Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo auction house, Chrono24 GmbH represented by its co-CEO and founder Tim Stracke, Philip Olden, President of the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, Patrick Hoffmann from Watchox, Iris Van der Veken from the RJC, Andrei Zharkov, ex-President of Alrosa the Russian mining company, to name a few.