Under the conditions of sanctions, the participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) are afraid of appearing on the lists and do not want to show their place of work on their badge.
The reason lies in the fear of bringing restrictions on the business company due to the presence of its representatives at an event under the patronage of the president. The international representation this year promises to be not as large-scale as usual, and the noisy parties that SPIEF was famous for, apparently, will also only be remembered.
From June 15 to June 18, the Northern capital will host the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which rightfully became the main economic event of the year in Russia. Its theme sounds like “New World – New Opportunities”, and participation costs 960 thousand rubles. Since 2006, SPIEF has been held under the patronage of the head of state, and all those present are checked by the FSO.
The events held within the framework of the SPIEF traditionally attract representatives of business, including large ones, politicians, journalists, economists, all kinds of activists, and the organization takes ten figures. In previous years, especially before the coronavirus pandemic, SPIEF was held on a grand scale and acquired more secular than economic overtones: parties, apartment parties, receptions, expensive cars in traffic jams on Nevsky Prospekt, crowds of passengers in Pulkovo, packed hotels with space prices for rooms , the #SPIEF hashtags, the girls that flooded the social media pages, not too similar to self-made business women or expert economists in the classic view, and so on. For three days, St. Petersburg plunged into the atmosphere of the holiday, but this year, it seems, a lot will change.
Better anonymous
Previously, the presence at the SPIEF indicated a certain status, albeit in many cases imaginary. Numerous photos and videos from the event could be seen not only on the official websites of the backbone banks and state corporations or in the stories of wealthy men hunting escorts, but also for mere mortals – employees of companies represented at the forum. A year ago, one could hardly have thought that someone would want to hide their presence at such a prestigious event as SPIEF. But during this time a lot has changed.
How informs RBC publication, the Roscongress Foundation, which is the organizer of SPIEF, received a number of requests from participants not to indicate their place of work on their badges. Such unusual requests are related to the fear of being sanctioned by the EU, the US and other unfriendly countries due to participation in the forum. Given the scope of recent restrictions, the decision to restrict a company for appearing at an event that Russian President Vladimir Putin usually attends is unlikely to come as a surprise, so Russian businesses want to play it safe. Some companies even pay for participation in the forum not directly, but through third-party organizations so that their payment details do not appear anywhere.
Whether SPIEF participants will be able to maintain at least partial anonymity is still unclear. Sources indicate that they have heard of such an option. Rocongress says that there is no way to reduce the amount of data on the badge – there must be at least a photo and the name of its owner. But in the participant’s personal account, according to sources, there is a checkmark that allows you to hide the speakers or the name of the company.
Without a full house
In past years, SPIEF was also famous for the fact that there were practically no rooms left in St. Petersburg hotels – everything was booked well in advance for the cherished dates. This is especially true for the middle price segment and premium rooms, because it is unlikely that forum participants will live in a hostel on the basement floor of a pre-revolutionary building with accommodation for six people in a room at 500 rubles per bed – after all, these are not football fans who in the days The 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg was filled with even such “attractive” accommodation facilities. Will there be a full house this year? Extremely unlikely.
Business is going through hard times, and participation in SPIEF, which costs almost a million rubles, is not a mandatory item of expenditure, so many companies have chosen to refuse representation at the event this year. How notes According to the Kommersant publication, this year the occupancy of St. Petersburg hotels may drop to 75%, which is 5-10% lower than last year’s figures. Perhaps the real figure will be even less.
As of June 1, 2022, 115 countries and territories have confirmed their participation in SPIEF, as well as 2,700 business representatives, including more than 1,000 company executives. For comparison, last year the forum was attended by representatives of 141 countries, 5 thousand employees of companies, including 1.5 thousand managers.
According to experts, in the current situation, participation in the forum can be useful for companies that focus on friendly foreign markets. There are prospects for those who represent the IT sector, mining, manufacturing, chemical industry, and development.
If we talk about the tariff for hotel accommodation during the SPIEF, prices, as is often the case during major events, go up. Growth is especially noticeable in the high-budget category. For example, one night in a five-star hotel from June 15 to 18 will cost 16.4 thousand rubles, which is 27% more expensive than a week later. Four-star rooms have risen in price by about 16%, accommodation in them will cost 9.6 thousand rubles per night. Modest three stars will cost 5.7 thousand rubles.
Some accommodation facilities, taught by bitter experience and FAS fines for unreasonable price increases, simply transfer room bookings to a closed mode – the sites do not display free rooms, but they are available upon request.
No more parties
The current realities, it seems, will leave SPIEF without such a component as a vibrant nightlife. In past years, many large companies have kept up the tradition by throwing truly grandiose parties, where guests were entertained by the stars – without exaggeration – of the world scale. During the pandemic, appetites calmed down somewhat, and now it has been decided either to completely abandon such parties, or to radically change their format. So, for example, it became known that Otkritie Bank for the first time since 2014 refused from the apartment building at the SPIEF. In the bank, which, by the way, was on the Western sanctions lists, this was explained by “a combination of factors.” There will also be no evening reception at Sberbank. Other traditional party organizers on the forum have not yet made a final decision on this matter. Events of a different nature can replace nightly fun – exhibitions, fairs and classical music concerts. The most surprising thing is that even the rumors of private “not for everyone” parties that usually circulate on the sidelines are absent this year.
However, there is information that some artists at SPIEF still invitedand the participants will have the opportunity to attend the performances of Grigory Leps, Alexander Rosenbaum and the Lube group, which is very consistent with the current agenda.