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THE PAINTBALL FAIR 2020 – X-DAYS, BUT DIFFERENT THIS TIME
Also this year the December highlight of the paintball scene is clearly the X-Days. This year, however, the fair is going through a few changes due to Corona and a change of location by the organizer Paint Xtreme. We spoke in advance with X-Days organizer Lars Herzig want to tell you how Germany's largest paintball fair will be this year, what changes are waiting for the visitors and what there is to see on site.
The paintball year 2020 has not been easy so far, especially not for major events and trade fairs. The current health regulations do not allow large gatherings of people or indoor events. The X-Days organization team around Paint Xtreme Managing Director Lars Herzig also knows this. "For this reason, the X-Days this year will differ significantly from the events of previous years…" he tells us. The X-Days will take place under the open sky for the first time this year. The exhibitors are not presenting themselves in the usual surroundings of the event hall in Waldems, but in the outdoor area of the new Paint Xtreme Super Store in Bad Camberg. This is between Frankfurt and Cologne, is much more central and only about 5 minutes away from the A3 motorway. In addition to the large outdoor area, there are also significantly more parking spaces than at the old shop. Under the open sky, in 20 large pagoda tents, each measuring five by five meters and with a reasonable wooden floor, the individual exhibitors will set up their product tables there and present the latest products. In order to keep the distances, to loosen up the whole thing and so that nobody has to stand out in the rain even in the event of bad weather, the booths inside the tents will be limited to a depth of three meters. This leaves a two-metre-wide strip for visitors to walk around and to be able to take a look at the displays of the individual suppliers at the stand.
"Due to the newly gained space, there will probably be a few new exhibitors this year, especially from the airsoft and home defense sectors," Lars tells us. As always, physical well-being is also taken care of. There will again be stands with food and drinks between the exhibitor tents. In keeping with the season and the new "Christmas market flair" of the event, the obligatory mulled wine stand should not be missing. "The new concept was the only way to still hold the X-Days this year despite the strict Corona requirements. That's why we're organizing a kind of paintball Christmas market." Lars is happy and looks forward to the event with confidence. We too think that this concept is a really good solution. Necessity is the mother of invention and it's a great way to still be able to organize the X-Days and at the same time bring a little fresh wind and some variety into the event. Of course, this year too, visitors will not have to go without the usual X-Days highlights, such as the big raffle, where a First Strike T15 and a DLX Luxe can be won every day. The highlight again this year is the auction, which takes place three times a day on the large show stage at the end of the exhibition area. There you can bid on various paintball items and, with a bit of luck, buy them at a bargain price. Due to the limited number of visitors due to Corona, access to the X-Days this year is only possible with a ticket. The organizers are forced to monitor the number of visitors and to steer the flow of visitors a little so that not too many people are crowded together in too small a space at the same time. For this reason, entry is not free this year, but at least a silver ticket (each price 19 euros) must be purchased.
Anyone who would like to secure a discount with their ticket can do so as usual with a gold or platinum ticket. With this you will receive the previously determined discounts on your purchase at the sales stands upon presentation of the ticket (for the amount of the discount see ticket information on www.X-Days.eu) "We will try to decorate everything for Christmas, so that it is a real paintball Christmas market will" assures us Lars at the end of our interview. We are excited about the changes, but we are already certain that the new concept will guarantee an exciting event that will certainly have its appeal. A paintball Christmas market sounds really cult and who knows, maybe the X-Days will take place more often in this new way in the future. In any case, we will keep you up to date in the next issue, in January, with a detailed X-Days event report and also collect the feedback from the visitors. There will of course also be news and information about the brand new products for the coming season. So look forward to the next issue.
