ICIF ends with substantial growth in visits

The 19th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) wrapped up yesterday, recording over 4 million visits, a significant increase compared with the previous edition, to its main venue, the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an District, as well as 64 subvenues across the city during the past five days.

A total of 3,596 governmental delegations, cultural institutions and businesses attended the fair as online and offline exhibitors, 194 more than the previous fair. Specifically, 2,688 of them set up offline booths while 908 went online during the fair.

According to statistics released by the organizer, the 19th ICIF, covering an exhibition area of up to 120,000 square meters in six halls, gathered more than 120,000 cultural exhibits, and over 4,000 cultural investment and financing projects were displayed and traded at the fair.

Key cultural projects involving a record investment of 3.42 billion yuan (US$479.8 million) were signed at the fair’s Cultural Industry Investment Promotion Conference.

For the first time, ICIF set up the Digital China exhibition area, showcasing the latest technologies, creativity and achievements of China’s digital cultural industry in all aspects.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the 19th ICIF has taken this as an opportunity to fully resume and expand foreign cultural trade and cultural exchanges at the fair.

French institutions including L’Institut français du design (IFD) and Bonjour Brand participated in the ICIF for the first time, and Belgian creative studio Dirty Monitor displayed their digital solutions at the fair.

The Belt & Road International Exhibition Area made a comeback offline, while an online exhibition hall was retained. A total of 300 overseas exhibitors from 50 countries and regions attended the fair, which attracted 25,736 overseas buyers and professional visitors from 108 countries and regions, the organizer said.

During the fair, the EyeShenzhen multilingual website launched its trial operation, and the Shenzhen Global Communication Ambassador Program and the SNG Global Communication Center were also unveiled, further improving ICIF’s international communication and internationalization level.

As a State-level, international and comprehensive fair for cultural industries, ICIF was first held in 2004 and has since played a significant role in promoting the development of the cultural industries in China as well as in Shenzhen.