BCB 2023: These are the Highlights Visitors can look forward to

From 9 to 11 October the bar community will be reunited again for three days at the German capital. This year Bar Convent Berlin will again attract visitors with exciting exhibitors, a versatile continuing education programme and, of course, bar teams and extra-class bartenders. In addition to the popular Guest Shifts hosted by top bars in Berlin in the evening, there will also be two special Bar Hotspots to be discovered right at the exhibition centre.  

 

This autumn will see the Berlin exhibition halls turn into the meeting point for the international bar community again. In six exhibition halls in total, spirits and beverage manufacturers from all over the world will be presented for three days. The BCB Team currently awaits to the tune of 500 exhibitors from 50 countries. Furthermore, the trade show will extend its ranges to include Hall 16, the so-called Rotunde, with an additional Food Area this year.  

The line-up of exhibitors is very wide and varied as usual: next to the well-known big players in the industry there are also some exciting newcomers and smaller brands and distilleries to be discovered. For that matter, the Young Guns Area and the Emerging Brands Area organised by BCB partner Park Street and already known from last year, will be the perfect first points of contact for visitors who want to find out about novelties from all over the world.   

 

BCB highlights Bar Trends with Hotspots

However, there is much more to be explored alongside exciting products. Well-known international bars have already shone at BCB in recent years with special pop-up bars. This year will see two exciting Bar Hotspots on the exhibition grounds focus on two key trends: Low & No as well as agave spirits.

“BCB is known for mirroring the current themes in the industry, at the same time new trends are always emerging here that will shape the coming years of the bar world. With our Bar Hotspots which are manned by great bar teams, we allow our visitors to experience them with all their senses and want to create unique moments,” says Petra Lassahn, Director of BCB.

 

Fully focused on Agave with ‘Barro Negro Athens‘

Tequila and mezcal are currently trending in the bar community. BCB therefore wants to set the scene for the special properties of agave and the many possibilities to create drinks with it by installing a dedicated pop-up bar on the exhibition grounds. To this end, BCB has joined forces with the Barro Negro Athens bar team to jointly create the ‘BCB Agave Embassy’. In addition to the possibility of tasting drinks in a bar atmosphere for three days, there will also be an Education Area where experts share their knowledge about agaves.

“Our mission is to inspire bartenders, the trade and the industry as a whole, and to highlight the power of agave spirits. I firmly believe that BCB is the best platform to present ourselves and what we stand for to the international bar industry,” says Stelios Papadopoulos, co-owner of Barro Negro Athens.

 

‘The Cambridge Public House’ sets the Scene for Low & No Drinks

But there is more to be discovered: visitors can look forward to another special area with ‘The Cambridge Public House’ bar team from Paris. This Bar Hotspot is all about Low & No. For the three trade show days, the French bar team will conjure up unique cocktail creations – with little as well as no alcohol. “People have become more aware of health issues in recent years and are paying much more attention to what they consume – which of course includes drinking habits. It's therefore an important topic for bartenders to address,” feels Hyacinthe Lescoët, co-owner of ‘The Cambridge Public House’.

 

The BCB Stage Programme: as versatile and relevant as ever

Of course, BCB will again offer a comprehensive range of continuing education opportunities. There will be five stages in total featuring versatile content. On the Main Stage well-known international bar personalities will again deliver talks and panel discussions will address topics of relevance to the industry. These will include Alex Francis of ‘Little Red Door’ from Paris and bar expert Chockie Tom, who will focus on important social issues in a panel discussion. Another fascinating and highly relevant panel discussion will revolve around the topic of female empowerment because female protagonists are still strongly underrepresented in the bar sector. Audience favourite Danil Nevsky will also take the stage again to share his expertise and experiences as a bartender with the community.

Alongside BCB’s partner WSET, “Deutsche Barkeeper-Union e.V.” (the German Bartenders’ Union) which celebrated a successful premiere with its own stage at BCB last year, will again join the fray and enrich the education programme with its lectures.  

 

The Night is ours! – BCB Guest Shifts & first BCB Closing Event planned

The popular BCB guest shifts will also take place again, where top international bar teams meet hip Berlin bars. Together, they will ensure a good atmosphere and first-class drinks with spirits from the respective sponsor brands on the evenings surrounding the trade show. Next to the ‘Velvet’, ‘Kink’ and ‘Wax On’ other great bars are planned as “ports of call” for the evenings. For the first time, there will also be a BCB Closing Event held in cooperation with ‘the grand CAMPARI hotel’ in Berlin. On the last day of BCB guests can look forward to an exclusive evening at a very special venue. So, nothing stands in the way of a perfect finale after all three trade show days.

 

 

About BCB

BCB is one of the leading international trade shows for the bar and beverage industry. Every year, this is where a veritable who’s who of the German and European bar and beverage industry gets together to make new contacts, find out about the latest product innovations and attend educational seminars.

 

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