About events

Opening the event, St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko noted that the “NEVA 2015” exhibition and conference enjoys tremendous popularity among specialists in the fields of shipbuilding, oceanography and Arctic development. He also emphasised that in St. Petersburg, shipbuilding represents one of the city’s core industries: the Northern Capital is home to approximately 80% of the country’s total shipbuilding science-and-technology and engineering capacity and roughly 30% of the sector’s total output, with more than 40 locally-operating shipbuilding enterprises supplying jobs to 50,000 St. Petersburg residents.

ExpoForum International General Director Sergey Voronkov congratulated the assembled organisers and partners on the opening of the “NEVA” exhibition, one of the few to post (7%) growth in recent years. “One of the world’s best thematic exhibitions is being held at the new ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, on par with all applicable global standards. And with more than twice the exhibition space, that gives “NEVA” plenty of room to grow,” said Voronkov.

The exhibition exposition features the participation of the industry’s leading companies and enterprises –United Shipbuilding Corporation, TRANSAS Group, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, SKF and Marine Equipment, Nevsky Shipyard, Sovcomflot, the North-Western Shipping Company, and others. The featured companies are taking advantage of the exhibition to showcase their specialised goods and services. TRANSAS Group, for example, is presenting its cutting-edge integrated-bridge system T-BRIDGE – a uniquely-high-tech system-integration solution for effective crew decision-making and safe, comfortable maritime navigation.

Exhibition participants note the event’s impressive business opportunities. A representative of United Shipbuilding Corporation, for instance, explained that the expo generates significant business results, including the signing of high-value contracts and the holding of key business meetings with partners.

Exhibition organisers: Transtec Neva Exhibitions CJSC (Russia), East West Exhibition Management Ltd / Dolphin Exhibitions Ltd (Great Britain).

Organising Committee: Marine College Under the Auspices of the RF Government, RF Ministry of Transport, RF Ministry of Trade and Industry, RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs, St. Petersburg City Government and Maritime Council Under the Auspices of the St. Petersburg City Government, Rosmorrechflot, RF Federal Fisheries Agency, Roshydromet, Northern Sea Route Administration, Russian Chamber of Shipping, Association of Commercial Sea Ports, Union of Oil-and-Gas Equipment Producers, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Rosneft, Sovcomflot, Krylov State Research Centre, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, Transas Group, Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, Association of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Regional Shipbuilders, Welders’ Alliance of St. Petersburg and the Northwest Region, Transportation Union of the Northwest. 

This year, the conference’s scientific programme was put together in conjunction with the European Association of Urology, which is why its participants include some 30 European experts – speakers at plenary and section sessions. Among them: General Secretary of the European Association of Urology – Chris Chapple, Professor of Urology at Lund University (Sweden) – Per-Anders Abrahamsson, Director of the Tübingen Urology Clinic (Germany) – Arnulf Stenzl, and many more. It is expected that the conference will be attended by roughly 100 European delegates – a record number in the history of the event.

Papers will also be delivered by Russia’s leading urologists: Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), President of the Russian Urology Society – Yuri Alyaev, Dean of the I.M. Sechenov School of Medicine – Pyotr Glybochko, Chief Urologist at the RF Ministry of Health – Dmitri Pushkar, and others. Over the three days on the conference, specialists will discuss new approaches to the treatment of prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia and renal cancer. Participants will review the unique aspects of robot-assisted surgery, and explore the possibilities offered by 3D-printing and cell technologies. A special plenary session will be devoted to the future of urology and field-specific education. The event will also see the hosting by the European School of Urology of a series of lectures on current area issues.

The scientific sections will be accompanied by the simultaneous holding of a specialised exhibition, at which more than 70 companies – including Astellas (the transplantology leader), Stada (leading drug manufacturer), Sanofi (prominent pharmacological company), and more – will showcase their products and cutting-edge innovations in the field of urology.

According to Yuri Alyaev, President of the Russian Urology Society, year after year, the conference continues to serve as a unifying force for the broader urological community, and act as a useful platform for the discussion of pressing area issues. This year, the conference has been elevated to a new level thanks to the participation of the European Association of Urology and the impressive resources of the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre, capable of accommodating more than 2,000 delegates at any given time.

The Russian Urology Society, founded in 1907, is one of Russia’s oldest medical associations. As of today, the society’s membership encompasses 3,140 urologists, while the total number of Russian specialists in this area currently stands at approximately 6,000.

Welcoming expo participants, the Head of the Submarining Department at the Technical Administration of the RF Naval Fleet – Andrei Prikhodko, remarked that the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Naval Fleet has recently been charged with ensuring the ongoing development and strengthening of the technical readiness of the country’s maritime fleet, thereby underscoring the relevance of the event: “In 2015, plans call for the RF Naval Fleet’s commissioning of more than 100 new warships and industrial vessels and, moving forward, ensuring this technical readiness will necessarily entail a comprehensive ship-repair programme – including work involving non-destructive testing (NDT), whose related systems are fully represented at the exhibition.”

For his part, one of the project’s organisers, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the specialised magazine for area specialists “NDT World” – Mikhail Grudsky, stressed that, despite the current economic situation unfolding in the country, the new platform had still managed to gather most of the leading companies, enterprises, developers and suppliers of non-destructive testing and technical-diagnostic equipment, and that, judging by the number of specialists in attendance, the exhibition would earn the high praise of visitors and exhibitors alike.

The Defectoscopy/NDT St. Petersburg Exhibition is a key industry event devoted to the practical application of cutting-edge non-destructive testing and technical-diagnostic equipment. The exhibition has been held in different Russian cities for the past 15 years, and in 2015, is being held for the very first time at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre, which boasts impressive opportunities for the demonstration of state-of-the-art non-destructive testing equipment across all industrial sectors.

And there was plenty to choose from: a wide array of sections, clubs and groups were presented by more than 65 sports schools and federations, with local sports opportunities showcased by all of St. Petersburg’s 18 districts. In all, roughly 80 different sports were represented. Above and beyond the traditional basketball, volleyball, track-and-field, fencing, table tennis, martial arts, swimming, etc., visitors had the chance to get a first-hand look at some lesser-known sports as well – floorball (a type of hockey featuring a ball instead of a puck, played on a hard surface), capoeira (a Brazilian form of martial arts combining elements of dance, acrobatics and music – sometimes referred to as a game) or even dogsledding. Dogsledding, for instance, is a competition among dogsled teams comprised, as a rule, of a specific number of Huskies, Samoyeds, Alaskan Malamutes, and other specialised breeds; it can be pursued from childhood in the “canicross” discipline, in which the dog pulls the sledder trailing behind him by a cord.

Festival guests were invited to try their hand at the most personally-appealing of the smorgasbord of sports on display. Such happy vignettes included: a child grasping a badminton racket for the very first time and hitting the shuttlecock with surprising power; two high-school seniors trying their skill at arm-wrestling under the watchful eye of an encouraging trainer; a boy getting behind the controls of a jet-ski as a coach from the Higher School of Watersports draws him a motivational picture: “Hold the wheel tight. You’re racing forward. Water splashes in your face. Sharp turn! Whatever you do – don’t fall off!”

Accomplished athletes were on hand to serve as role models for those just embarking on their athletic journey: acrobats shot to the rafters of the Expoforum pavilion, demonstrating impressive tumbling tricks on the trampoline; young dancers performed energetic elements of acrobatic rock-and-roll; freestyle wrestlers pinned each other to the mat; and members of the Irish Stick Fighting Club put on a display of, well… Irish Stick Fighting. The demonstrations were accompanied by valuable coaching clinics: wee gymnasts moved gingerly, chins-up, along the beam (a seemingly-endless number of times in various permutations), doing their best to execute a somersault on the 10-cm-wide piece of equipment, falling and trying again, as the coach stood by, carefully correcting their form – back straight, neck long, chin up…

Special pride of place at the event was devoted to ice hockey – in 2016, St. Petersburg is slated to host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, operated by Expoforum International. Accompanied by a children’s choir, confidently singing the words “Hockey not for cowards!,” attendees were invited to take part in a shoot-out face-off, read about the many legends of Soviet and Russian hockey, look at the medals claimed by our country at the World and European Championships, learn interesting hockey trivia (such as: in 2008, at the initiative of the International Ice Hockey Federation, vying for the puck were the five best players of all time – including three from team USSR), and take a picture with the real Gagarin Cup, passed from champion team to champion team in the play-off series of the Continental Hockey League (CHL).

As the “I choose sports!” campaign surely demonstrated: sports are something for people of all ages – from infancy (with some clubs offering sports activities for babies as young as three-months) right up into old age (the floor was graced with elegant performances by senior Wushu-enthusiasts and master-classes on Nordic walking). As Distinguished Trainer of the USSR and Russia, Tamara Moskvina, remarked in opening the festivities, she began her career in sports at the tender age of 10: “Today, I’m 74 years old, and I can still give plenty of people a run for their money – I’m a living example of why it’s so important to choose sports!”

The ExpoForum pavilion and outdoor areas will provide everyone the opportunity to try their best at table hockey, fencing, track and field, basketball, volleyball, arm wrestling, floorball, field hockey and other sports. Traditionally, the event will take place simultaneously with the St. Petersburg leg of the “Orange Ball,” the all-Russian street basketball competition. All in all, this year more than 80 sports will be presented.

Svetlana Kuzmitskaya, Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Physical Education and Sports, stressed that this year’s campaign “I Choose Sport!” will involve more than 100 participants, including more than 30 leading sports federations, 59 state educational institutions of physical culture and sports of St. .Petersburg and 18 district administrations, “We are holding the public action “I Choose Sport!” at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre in the south of the city for the first time. Its new facilities and grounds create a great setting for our exhibition.”

According to Andrei Pavlov, Deputy CEO for Commerce of ExpoForum-International, the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre meets all the requirements for the organisation of sporting events and will soon be included in the All-Russian Register of Sports Facilities of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. He also clarified that pavilion F, which will host the public action “I Choose Sport!,” has recently received a certificate of conformity as a multipurpose sports facility, “The potentialities of ExpoForum allow sporting events of different levels to be held: the capacity of one pavilion is up to 5,000 spectators; high ceilings needed for some sports are up to 18 meters; the mounting gates through which the machinery is brought in are 8 meters high.” He added that ExpoForum-International plans to strengthen the portfolio of sporting events in the near future; in particular, the company will act as the operator of the Ice Hockey World Championship in May 2016.

Let’s recall that the public action “I Choose Sport!” has been held at the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex since 2009. The event is organised by the St. Petersburg Committee for Physical Education and Sports.

Guests were welcomed into an izba – the traditional dwelling of the Slavs. Here, an icon, hearth, birchbark handicrafts and other household items were all on display. Guests were invited to attend master classes on dry felting, wood painting and pysanka (Easter-egg painting). Performance troupes in brightly coloured national costumes sang chastushkas and showcased round-dancing.

The photographic exhibition “Daily Life of the Slavic Peoples” featured such scenes from the everyday life of the Slavs as haying, threshing and potato harvesting. Typical occupations of the late-19^th – early 20^th centuries were also on display: cobbler, grinder, whisk-maker and blintz-baker.

The ethnic square of Russia’s Northern peoples was adorned by a chum – the traditional dwelling of nomadic reindeer-herders, made of poles and covered by birch bark, felt batting and deerskin. Of particular interest was the exposition of fur and beaded items, featuring Eskimo slippers, rosette amulets and other Nenets and Even crafts. The ambience of the North was created by falling artificial snowflakes, accompanied by the music of a Karelian group.

Two yurts – Bashkir and Kazakh – were on display in the Turkic ethnic square, which also hosted competitions in tug-of-war, stilt walking and Bashkir belt wrestling. Guests were invited to take a firsthand look at national Turkic garments and rugs, and to take part in master classes in the art of down knitting, patch-working and leather-mosaic-making.

The Causasus ethnic square showcased the traditional dwelling of the Caucasian highlanders – the sakley (hut), with its distinctive flat roof. The setting and interior décor of the home are Spartan: trunks, clay pitchers, and traditional weapons. Guests were treated to a special exposition of dolls in national Dagestani costumes, and performances by folk ensembles staging the traditional lezghinka and kafa dance.

The central part of the exhibition was occupied by mock-ups of the future Ethnopark, which is slated to be built in one of St. Petersburg’s districts. According to plans, it will house ethnic squares and a café, playgrounds, a zoo, stylized hotels, handicraft workshops, and a “Friendship House”.

According to the General Director of ExpoForum International Sergei Voronkov, this is a very important project for ExpoForum: “We’re planning to host not only business but also cultural events, and visitors to the Ethnopark will be able to appreciate the vast resources of our venue for themselves.”

Opening the exhibition, Deputy Director of the RF Federal Customs Service, Lieutenant General of the Customs Service Ruslan Davydov congratulated the Northwest Customs Administration on its 25^th anniversary and noted the exhibition’s focus on the advancement of customs technologies – a challenge effectively being met by the jubilee-administration.

Acting Head of the Northwest Customs Administration, Lieutenant General of the Customs Service Alexander Getman remarked that the aim of the exhibition was to demonstrate what regional customs authorities had been able to accomplish in collaboration with the business community, state agencies and other structures. “The rallying cry of the event is cooperation” declared Alexander Nikolaevich.

Showcasing their expositions at the exhibition were the various customs authorities of the Northwest Region – Arkhangelsk, Vyborg, Kaliningrad, Karelia, Pulkovo customs offices and more, as well as customs services from Estonia and Finland. The stands were devoted to the past, present and future of customs and related businesses.

The Northwest Customs Administration delved into history, displaying an old customs form and copies of century-old orders and letters. The stand of the Karelia customs office and the customs services of Estonia and Finland showed sniffer dogs trained to detect narcotics, tobacco and cash. The office of forensic sciences demonstrated contraband goods, such as a bottle of St.John Commandaria: travelers arriving from the Dominican Republic had attempted to smuggle in 15 bottles of the strong alcohol, in which 7 kg of cocaine had been dissolved. The process of detecting prohibited substances was illustrated by the Vyborg customs office: 2 months ago, the office got a unique piece of equipment surpassing all worldwide comparables – a portable romanowsky analyser made by KhimExpert that quickly analyses the composition of liquid, solid and granular substances, identifying any explosives, narcotics and poisons contained therein.

The first day of the exhibition featured performances by canine handlers and their trained customs dogs, and a special demonstration by SOBR agents, who put on a thrilling criminal-apprehension show featuring the take-down of smugglers, illegal immigrants, and gangsters.

Welcoming event participants, Director of the Northwest Chapter of the Russian-German Foreign Trade Chamber, René Haroun, noted that despite the difficult economic climate, Solids Russia offered companies an effective business platform for networking and building partnerships. “This year, roughly 50% of the convention’s participants are representatives of Germany, who are making the most of this industry event to take their first steps on the Russian market. First and foremost, this speaks to the fact that Russia boasts tremendous potential, and that economic relations between the two countries remain strong,” said the speaker.

This sentiment was seconded by Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Leonid Weisberg (PhD in Engineering), who added that, aside from the technologies for the processing, refining and shipping of granular and powder substances on display at the exhibition from the market’s leading players, the organisers − Easyfairs expo company – had supplemented the event with an extensive business programme, in which conference delegates were able to learn first-hand about the nuances of the storage and transportation of granular materials, and meet with fire-and-explosion safety experts to enhance their professional qualifications.

For his part, the General Director of Easyfairs Deutschland GmbH, Siegbert Hieber, stressed that the Solids exhibition represents a high-priority project for the company, that its Russian debut broadens opportunities for the European market, and that the modern venue offered by the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre ensures a strong start for the project’s future development.

At the official opening ceremony, exhibition guests were welcomed by the Head of the St. Petersburg Veterinary Administration, Yuri Andreev. He stressed that over the 17 years since the inception of the annual Hipposphere Exhibition in St. Petersburg, the show has emerged as a cornerstone event for all industry specialists: “Way back when, it was nothing more than plans for the future, and today – it’s a massive international forum that gathers thousands of representatives of the equestrian industry and horse enthusiasts at a single venue.”

This sentiment was fully supported by Nadezhda Rakhmatulina, Head of the Animal Husbandry Department at the Leningrad Regional Committee for the Agroindustrial and Fishing Complex, who noted that the exhibition had managed to thrive thanks to the tremendous energy of its organisers, the undisputed mastery of its participants, and the enthusiastic interest of its spectators: “The Hipposphere Exhibition is a place where people for whom horse breeding and equestrian work is both a passion and a vocation – the driving force in their lives – can gather to discuss professional issues and share experiences.”

Later at the opening ceremony, the exhibition’s participants and visitors were also greeted by the General Director of ExpoForum International, Sergei Voronkov. He emphasised that the Hipposphere Exhibition was being held for the first time ever at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, whose venue, since its grand opening, had already hosted more than 20 events attended by some 1 million people.

The St. Petersburg International Hipposphere Equestrian Exhibition is the Russian Northwest Region’s largest forum of horse breeders, horse owners, and representatives of the equestrian industry, convention of equestrian experts, and a convenient platform for experience-sharing and discussing the latest industry trends. The exhibition showcases a wide array of goods and services for horses and riders by more than 100 companies from Russia, the CIS, the UAE, Slovenia and Oman. Visitors can expect to be delighted by a thrilling show programme featuring 25 different horse breeds.