Prague Congress Centre exhibition hall project threatened due to COVID-19 and cost considerations

Friday, April 23, 2021

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Prague Congress Centre celebrated its 40th anniversary this month as the Czech Republic continued to struggle as a hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic with the highest infection rate in the world. The adjacent Holiday Inn Prague Congress Centre is also marking its 20th birthday and both the venues are looking ahead for better times.

PCC CEO Lenka Žlebková, who took over the leadership of the venue just as the first lockdown began in 2020, is staying optimistic about the return of local corporate events. She said in a statement that she was most hopeful of international association events as long as international air travel can resume. She shared that the event might not be as big as expected and the numbers definitely would match the 2019 levels, but she is hopeful that by 2023 or 2024, things will be back to normal.

The pandemic has also thrown into doubt the construction of a new exhibition hall at the PCC, and although all permissions and funding had been secured pre-Covid, there is no guarantee plans will still proceed. Zlebkova has said a tender for the construction will be held in the coming months and that any decision whether to build, postpone or cancel the project will depend on the costings put forward. Only if the numbers are bearable, it seems, can the birthday celebrations begin. Meanwhile the transformation into hybrid productions has seen PCC invest in new AV and streaming technology for the venue’s two main halls and with plans for more streaming technology for the breakout rooms.